Farms
Biofilms on farms are a potential threat to the safety of the food chain
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Pigs
Bacteria including Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pasteurella, Listeria, E. coli and Clostridium spp. cause disease in pigs and potentially humans. All of these bacteria form biofilms that increase resistance to mechanical and chemical cleaning of farm equipment. Salmonella is more common in indoor-bred pigs in part due to the intensive nature of these operations. Salmonella may persist on a farm for many […]
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Dairy
Bacillus species are frequently found in the dairy processing environment and can form biofilms containing infective spores. Forming biofilms enables Bacillus species to resist commonly-used cleaning regimes including regular cleaning of equipment with alkaline and acidic solutions under turbulent flow conditions at high temperatures. Bovine mastitis is among the most common diseases of dairy cattle. It can […]
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Poultry
Biofilms in poultry production are of concern where they can form in the birds’ water supply network. In broiler (any chicken that is bred and raised specifically for meat production) houses, this is a key point of infection control; to prevent biofilms becoming a source of potential contaminants in the chicken gut. Water systems are […]