Piramide Srl has been a Realco Partner for over 30 years and specialises in consulting and distribution of enzymatic detergents for the food industry.
This year Piramide Srl will participate in theEuropean Food Sure Summit 2022 as a Partner of Realco, a leading company in food safety, quality and hygiene.
The conference, on food safety and quality, will be held at theHotel Meliá in Milan on 14 and 15 June, to discuss issues related to the prevention of food safety problems, food contamination and, therefore, BIOREM.
Numerous speakers from major international companies such as: Coca Cola, Ab Inbev, Nestlé, etc.
Theme of the conference: Biofilms, a recurring problem in the food industry.
Biofilms are a complex structure of microorganisms enclosed in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Several studies have shown the presence of biofilms in different ecosystems such as the food industry, for example in brewing, dairy processing, fresh produce, poultry and red meat processing. Biofilms are regarded as a source of microbial contamination leading to food spoilage, reduced shelf life, and are also considered a potential route of pathogen transmission. It is estimated that 60 per cent of food-borne infections occurred due to microbial transfer from equipment surfaces to processed food.
Conventional sanitisation methods appear to be inefficient against biofilms and, in addition, increase resistance to antimicrobial products. The limitation of CIP procedures is that they do not eliminate residual microorganisms on equipment surfaces, resulting in the formation of biofilms. Biofilms have been reported to possess 100-1000 times more antimicrobial resistance than equivalent groups of floating counterparts. The CIP regimen provided a significant change in the reduction of the number of viable cells. The increase in biofilm resistance to conventional treatments increases the need to develop new control strategies.
New strategies to eliminate biofilms using enzymes, phages or bioregulation have been proposed. The use of enzyme-based detergents as biocleaners, also known as ‘green chemicals’, may serve as a viable option to eliminate biofilms from the food industry. Enzymes and detergents have been used as synergists to improve the effectiveness of disinfectants. Formulations containing different enzymes seem to be crucial for a successful biofilm control strategy.
The conference will provide an overview of the consequences of biofilms in the food industry and some tools to detect their presence. Finally, some case studies will illustrate the power of enzymatic strategies to eradicate biofilms in a food process.
