Biofilm formation and food safety in food industries

Biofilms are a self-protection growth pattern of bacteria, which are different from planktonic cells. They have been of considerable interest in food hygiene since biofilms may contain spoilage and pathogenic bacteria which increases post-processing contamination and risk to public health. In addition, biofilm cells are more resistant to cleaning and disinfection processes in the food industry. Biofilm formation is a complex process in which genetic mechanisms and numerous factors such as the properties of substratum and bacterial cell surfaces are involved. In order to further understand the intricate mechanisms behind biofilm formation, various techniques including physical, chemical and molecular methods have been used to establish the possible model of biofilm formation in food industry. Therefore, the importance of bacterial biofilms in food safety control and biofilm formation mechanisms will be discussed in this paper. The objective of all efforts is to provide new insights for developing biofilm-free food-processing systems.