11 Dec 2014 Immediate detection of the main cause of contamination in food-bev factories

Local hygiene company, Pescatech, has launched a new product – BioFinder, a product that can detect biofilms in 30 seconds on any surface in the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries.

The presence of biofilms in and on industrial working surfaces within processing operations is the main cause of contamination of the final product.
Biofilms are groups of microorganisms attached to surfaces which produce a number of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that protect them from adverse environmental conditions.
EPS make microorganisms resistant and form a barrier against conventional cleaning and disinfection procedures, making it more difficult to remove the biofilm. Biofilms easily develop in hydrated environments, with a source of carbon and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, among others.
Biofilms are invisible to the naked eye, but they can be detected.

1. Stainless steel surface moistened with water. 2. Negative reaction after using BioFinder on a non-contaminated surface. 3. Positive reaction after using BioFinder on a surface contaminated with biofilms. 4. Side view of a positive reaction.

BioFinder is an innovative solution for the detection of biofilms in open surfaces and an effective tool for hygiene monitoring. It reacts within 30 seconds in the presence of biofilm allowing the detection of any contaminated area by a visual inspection when spraying the liquid onto a surface.
BioFinder has been tested on the most relevant microorganisms found in the food industry. From a microbiological standpoint of food safety, this includes those capable of generating foodborne disease outbreaks such as Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Cronobacter sakazakii.
From a technological standpoint: spoilage flora that can affect food product shelf life such as Pseudomonas spp.
Biofinder is effective in detecting monospecies and multispecies biofilms, i.e. biofilms formed by only one type of microorganism, and those consisting of two or more species.

Pescatech: See more here