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Title: SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF FINISHED STAINLESS STEEL RELATED TO PREVENTION OF BACTERIAL ATTACHMENT AND BIOFILM FORMATION

Author
item BOOTHE, DOROTHY
item ARNOLD, JUDY

Submitted to: Southern Poultry Science Society Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2000
Publication Date: 1/15/2001
Citation: BOOTHE, D.D., ARNOLD, J.W. SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS OF FINISHED STAINLESS STEEL RELATED TO PREVENTION OF BACTERIAL ATTACHMENT AND BIOFILM FORMATION. SOUTHERN POULTRY SCIENCE SOCIETY MEETING ABSTRACT. 2001.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Prudent selection of materials used in food processing equipment is important because materials resistant to bacterial contamination will ultimately improve the safety of the food supply. In this study, stainless steel disks treated with a variety of finishes used in the poultry processing industry were analyzed for surface characteristics important for prevention of bacterial attachment and biofilm formation. Finishes on test disks included steel-ball burnished, glass-beaded, electropolished, acid-dipped, sandblasted, and unfinished. Individual disks were incubated with mixed bacterial cultures from chicken carass rinses, and culture growth was monitored by spectrophotometry. Control disks were incubated similarly but in sterile broth. Scanning electron miscroscopy was subsequently used to determine bacterial numbers on disk surfaces. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was utilized to analyze surface morphology, such as roughness, and energy dispersive x-ray analysis was used to determine the elemental composition of the disks. Bacterial counts on glass-beaded and sandblasted disks were higher than on unfinished disks; however, this difference was not statistically significant. Electropolished disks harbored statistically significantly fewer bacteria than other disks, but X-ray analysis of electropolished and unfinished control disks indicated no difference in their elemental composition. Statistical analysis of AFM data related changes in bacterial attachment to changes in roughness (RMS), center line average, and bearing ratio/area. Knowledge of these relationships will help poultry processing equipment manufacturers and processors to select sur- face finishes resistant to bacterial attachment and biofilm formation.