Commercial methods for the detection of surface bacterial contamination in the food industry

International audience

English. Managing the hygiene of industrial surfaces is a major issue in the food industry. This is because these surfaces can be a source of contamination of food by pathogenic bacteria during bacterial transfers (Denis et al., 2017). As part of the sanitary control plan, it is therefore essential to implement effective cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, but also managing the performance of these procedures. The microbiological analysis of surface samples is an essential step in the management of microbial risk in business. This analysis consists of the detection and/or enumeration of pathogenic and non-pathogenic micro-organisms taken from the environment of food processing plantsCertain points may negatively affect the quality of the information and should be the object of particular vigilance. Firstly, it is necessary to choose an adequate sampling method that enables maximum recovery of adherent microorganisms in order not to underestimate surface contamination. The choice of the detection, enumeration, isolation, identification and/or characterization method for microorganisms is also a critical point in this approach. For example, the so-called "conventional" microbiological analysis methods based on the culture of microorganisms are useful for the detection of a very low level of microorganisms present on surfaces but will not enable the recovery of stressed and viable but non-cultivable microorganisms (VNCs). In addition, these conventional methods are generally simple and inexpensive, but they can be slow, tedious, equipment and labor intensive, and require specific skills. To address these issues, new methods for the detection, enumeration and characterization of microorganisms have been developed. These include molecular methods that are rapid, specific and sensitive.Always with the aim of optimizing surface control, ready-to-use tools for detecting microorganisms have been developed allowing the sampling but also the analysis of the surface sample and applicable directly by professionals without the need to go through a laboratory analysis. This chapter aims to provide a state of knowledge on the tools for the detection of pathogenic bacteria from industrial environmental samples, from surface sampling to its analysis.