NUEVOS MÉTODOS PARA EL CONTROL DE BIOFILMS EN LA INDUSTRIA ALIMENTARIA

Abstract

Conventional methods (chemical, physical or biological) of cleaning and disinfection of equipment and surfaces are effective for the control of bacteria in free-living state (or planktonic state). However, in many cases they are ineffective for the elimination of mature biofilms, since the cells that compose a biofilm are more resistant to different stress conditions and antimicrobial agents than the free-living cells. Therefore, once a biofilm is formed, the bacteria in it are extremely difficult to eliminate. For this reason, and because of the problems that the persistent colonization causes in processing plants, the control of the formation of biofilms is becoming the focus of attention for food producers. Due to the limitation of traditional anti-biofilm methods, new ALTERNATIVE METHODS, such as coatings with antimicrobial agents or coatings to modify the topography or the surface physico-chemical composition, are being developed by researchers in this field. The present communication describes the current biofilm control methods, their limitations and drawbacks, and shows the new control methods (ALTERNATIVE METHODS) that are based, among others, on plasma-polymerization technology using atmospheric plasma equipment.