Modeling the Survival of Listeria monocytogenes on the Typical Food Contact Surfaces

Abstract

The survival of Listeria monocytogenes on food-contact surfaces may increase its exposure probability in foods and thus cause serious foodborne illness. In the present study, the behavior of L. monocytogenes surviving on seven nutrient-free food contact surfaces during storage at 4 and 25 ℃ was observed and described by using the Bigelow model. The kinetic parameters illustrated that the survival of L. monocytogenes was varied among food contact surfaces. The wooden surface was significantly adverse to L. monocytogenes persistence, while it could survive on other materials for more than 46 h. Except for the glass and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene surfaces, the population density of L. monocytogenes at 4 °C was higher than that at 25 °C, which implied that the low temperature might contribute to its survival. Overall, L. monocytogenes showed a relatively strong survival ability on glass and polypropylene surfaces. Therefore, the survival ability of L. monocytogenes in different surface and temperature conditions should be considered to qualify the risk of L. monocytogenes more accurately in the food chain.

Keywords

• listeria monocytogenes
• survival model
• food contact surface
• refrigerating temperature
• predictive microbiology