Incidence of Staphylococcus aureus and Analysis of Associated Bacterial Communities on Food Industry Surfaces

Abstract

bBiofilms are a common cause of food contamination with undesirable bacteria, such as pathogenic bacteria. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major bacteria causing food-borne diseases in humans. A study designed to determine the presence of S. aureus on food contact surfaces in dairy, meat, and seafood environments and to identify coexisting microbiota has therefore been carried out. A total of 442 samples were collected, and the presence of S. aureus was confirmed in 6.1% of samples. Sixty-three S. aureus isolates were recovered and typed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Profiles were clustered into four groups which were related to specific food environments. All isolates harbored some potential virulence factors such as enterotoxin production genes, biofilm formation-associated genes, antibiotic resistance, or lysogeny. PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) fingerprints of bacterial communities coexisting with S. aureus revealed the presence of bacteria either involved in food spoilage or of concern for food safety in all food environments. Food industry surfaces could thus be a reservoir for S. aureus forming complex communities with undesirable bacteria in multispecies biofilms. Uneven microbiological conditions were found in each food sector, which indicates the need to improve hygienic conditions in food processing facilities, particularly the removal of bacterial biofilms, to enhance the safety of food products.

Evaluation antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of the antimicrobial peptide P34 against Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis

“…Moreover, the ability of S. aureus isolated from industrial surfaces to form biofilm depends on the environmental conditions. The hygienic condition of food handlers is also associated with the propagation of S. aureus biofilm producer (Gutiérrez et al 2012, Souza et al 2014, Di Ciccio et al 2015. Several authors have reported E. faecalis strains isolated from food samples with ability to form biofilms (Medeiros et al 2014, Jahan and Holley 2014, Fernandes et al 2015.…”

The Behavior of Staphylococcus aureus Dual-Species Biofilms Treated with Bacteriophage phiIPLA-RODI Depends on the Accompanying Microorganism

“…Conversely, there may be a synergistic effect of interspecies competition between the phage and the nonsensitive bacteria during active growth, thereby favoring elimination of the target pathogen. This may also limit phage-resistance acquisition, which generally confers a loss of competitive ability of the bacteria (30). This seemed to be the case, for example, of dual-species biofilms formed by E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (22).…”

“…Indeed, staphylococcal food poisoning represented 7.5% of all outbreaks reported in the European Union in 2014 (27). Some studies described a high incidence of S. aureus on food industry surfaces (28,29), where this bacterium often forms complex communities with other pathogenic and spoilage bacteria (30). In a previous work, we described the isolation and characterization of the myophage phiIPLA-RODI.…”

Diversity and biofilm-forming capability of bacteria recovered from stainless steel pipes of a milk-processing dairy plant

“…Similarly, many of the tested Staphylococcus strains exhibited a moderate to strong capacity to form biofilms. Staphylococci species have been frequently shown to harbour ica genes (Gutierrez et al 2012;Szweda et al 2012), which are involved in biofilm formation. However, surprisingly, and in contrast to previous reported results (Faille et al 2001), most B. cereus strains were found to be nonbiofilm producers, even though isolates of these species were a majority population in all samples.…”