Role of equipment design in biofilm prevention
Résumé
The origins of microbial contamination of processed food are diverse, occurring at different steps of the food value chain from the field to the plate. Equipment surfaces are often considered to be significant contaminant breeding grounds. This chapter first highlights the ways in which equipment geometries play a significant role in surface hygiene, looking at how soiling and cleaning flow affects deposition and removal phenomena in simple geometries (pipe work). It also deals with the more complex systems encountered in processing lines, where most research has been carried out over recent decades. Original insights are then proposed regarding all air–liquid–material interfaces and splash areas, where contamination is prone to drying. Such critical areas could be related to specific and potentially significant hygiene issues. This chapter concludes by focusing on material properties as surface energy and surface topography, which have attracted much recent scientific interest, as yet generating no satisfactory proposals. Hygienic equipment design is now considered to be mandatory in the mitigation of food cross-contamination risk but is also judged to be a way of reducing the environmental impact of cleaning operations in food and beverage industries, as it allows for milder processes with less potable water.