EVALUATING THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOTA ON BIOFILM FORMATION AND SANITIZER TOLERANCE OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES

Listeria monocytogenesis a bacterium that causes the deadly foodborne illness listeriosis.Listeriaand other microorganisms found in the natural environment, such as soil, can be unintentionally introduced into food processing facilities with raw foods like fruit. Once introduced in the food processing environment,Listeriaand many other environmental microorganisms can grow on surfaces into microbial layers called biofilms. Microorganisms enclosed in a biofilm produce slimy substances that protect them from the antimicrobial activity of sanitizing chemicals by slowing down their penetration into the core of a biofilm. Biofilm formation can therefore result in reduced efficacy of antimicrobial sanitizers used to inactivateListeria.This project will investigate the interactions between microorganisms found in fruit packing environments andL. monocytogenes. It will study the ability of environmental microorganisms to form robust biofilms together withL. monocytogenesand to what extent the formed biofilms protectL. monocytogenesfrom the antimicrobial activity of sanitizers. The data and information generated in this project will help optimize the cleaning and sanitizing procedures used in the fresh produce industry to improve the control ofL. monocytogenesand support the production of safe food.