ARTICLE: FOOD PREPARATION & MANUFACTURING - RESEARCH ARTICLE

Verification of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence to measure levels of cleanliness on plastic food-contact surfaces

R49D-4FOOD SAFETY – RESEARCH ARTICLE

M. B. LEON, Department of Health and Nutriton Science, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 115A Ruth Leverton Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583 and J. A. Albrecht, Dept. Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 119 RLH, Lincoln, NE 68583-0807.

ATP bioluminescence is gaining acceptance in the food processing industry as a rapid method to measure the level of cleanliness on food-contact surfaces. This technique may be extended to the food service industry as a method to prevent potential cross-contamination of foods by using contaminated cutting boards. The objective of this study was to investigate whether a relationship exists between the conventional aerobic plate count (APC) and ATP bioluminescence to provide information about the efficacy of the cleaning and disinfection on food-contact surfaces. Three food-grade plastic cutting boards (35 x 30 cm), divided into 42 equal areas of 5x5 cm were used as food-contact surfaces. A culture of Lactobacillus casei with a starting concentration of 109 colony forming units (CFU)/milliliter (ml) was used as source of living cells and ATP. The culture was diluted in phosphate saline buffer (PBS) to obtain three different target concentrations at 103, 105, and 107 CFU/ml. After spraying the culture on the boards, recovery of the microorganism was achieved by swabbing the surface with sterile cotton swabs for the APC and LumT Plus swabs for the bioluminescence assays respectively. Recovery after 2 hours gave average bioluminescence measurements of 247,629, 71,218, and 8,852 relative light units (RLU) that correspond to averaged recovered APC readings of 4.1 x106 CFU/ml, 5.9x104 CFU/ml and 1.4x103 CFU/ml respectively. Controls taken prior to the soiling phase gave an average APC reading <10 CFU/ml for an average bioluminescence measurement of 1,076. A response curve constructed indirectly predicts potential levels of bacteria present on the surfaces. Results obtained suggest a clear relationship between ATP bioluminescence measurements and microbial counts on APC plates. Higher bioluminescence measurements correspond to higher CFU/ml. Since ATP bioluminescence is fast and easy to perform, it is seen as a convenient food sanitation monitoring method for the food service industry.

联系Hygiena技术支持小组, 请浏览我们的技术支持页面获得更详细信息或者Email给我们：support@hygienausa.com。