A conductance-based surface disinfection test for food hygiene

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

A surface disinfectant test method for food hygiene is described in which biocidal action was assessed using bacterial biofilms developed on stainless steel. The viability of control and surface‐bound treated biofilms was assessed, using a Malthus microbiological growth analyser. The surface test was compared with the European Suspension Test on three bacteria, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus mirabilis, for 12 commonly used food surface disinfectants. In all cases the bacteria were shown to be up to 10 times more resistant to biocides, and in seven cases up to 100 times more resistant, when surface‐attached. Disinfectants that performed well against bacteria in suspension did not necessarily perform well against the same bacteria when attached to surfaces.