Microbial survival on different wooden surfaces

Abstract

Wood has a long tradition as a natural material used by humans in the preparation, packaging and transport of food products. However, microbial adhesion and subsequent biofilm formation on wooden surfaces can be a source of contaminations that may seriously affect the safety and quality of foods. Hence this study aimed to assess the adhesion of bacteria Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923 and yeast Pichia membranifaciens ZIM 2417 on different types of wooden surfaces such as poplar (Populus sp.), Norway spruce (Picea abies), European beech (Fagus sylvatica), and to evaluate whether Belinka oil food contact and disinfectant P3-oxonia active 150 can interfere with adhesion to beech surfaces. The adhesion was determined by the number of colony-forming units per mm2 of sample (CFU/mm2). The results showed that bacteria cells noticeably had a higher ability to adhere to wood in comparison with yeast. Evaluation of adhesion revealed that the gram-negative bacteria E. coli ATCC 35218 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 exhibited a much better ability for adherence to wooden surfaces than gram-positive bacteria S. aureus ATCC 25923. In addition, it should be pointed out that wood species like Norway spruce had antimicrobial effect against S. aureus ATCC 25923 and P. membranifaciens ZIM 2417 compared to poplar and European beech. Agents used in the food industry to maintain food contact surfaces such as the Belinka oil food contact and disinfectant P3-oxonia active 150 also showed antimicrobial properties and consequently lower adhesion of microbes to beech surfaces.