Staphylococcus aureus is Gram-positive bacterium commonly associated with food poisoning diseases. This pathogen is responsible for food-borne illnesses outbreaks associated with the consumption of food especially meat products. The aims of this study were to evaluate the ability of Staphylococcus aureus recovered from food contact surfaces in meat processing environment of Egypt for biofilm formation and to test their susceptibility to the commercially used sanitizers including Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs, 200ppm), Sodium hypochlorite (200ppm) and Iodine (2.5%). The ability of isolates for biofilm formation and their sensitivity to sanitizers were investigated in 96-well flat bottom microtiter plates. Twelve strains were obtained from 120 food contact surfaces (FCS) using standard microbiological techniques. All isolated strains 100% (12/12) manifested high ability to form biofilm, which classified as strong type. Further, the application of QACs, Sodium hypochlorite and Iodine generated a reduction of (76.77%), (71.38%) and (15.84%) in the biofilm formation, respectively. Conclusively, all sanitizers were not 100% efficient in removing the biofilm formed by isolated S. aureus on polypropylene. Therefore, vigilant food safety practices need to be implemented in the meat processing environment, at meat processing plant and food services establishments, especially for FCS to prevent foodborne infections and intoxications due to S. aureus contamination from biofilms. |
