Hygiene in food plants is usually a tricky one, surfaces visually appearing clean and actually being clean at a microbiological level are completely independent, meaning one can occur without the other.

Food’s biggest threat is at the microbiological level in the form of bacteria and pathogens. Which are both microscopic and unable to be identified by the naked human eye on a surface. This begs the question; how can you tell something is actually clean? Swabs taken of a surface that give bacterial counts are the most common method, however, this doesn’t necessarily help the cleaners during their cleaning regime.

It becomes even more difficult for cleaners when we look at biofilms and the chemical resistance they possess.

What Are Biofilms?

Biofilms are the result of a group of microorganisms like bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites bonding to a surface to form a colony in which the microorganisms all share their nutrients, water, heat and defensive genetic material. In addition, they produce a glue-like shield that makes the colony extremely difficult to remove from surfaces completely. They are also somewhat difficult to identify with certainty.

Why Are Biofilms Particularly Bad?

• Biofilms are resistant and as a result overly persistent, they often need extra chemical and abrasion care to remove fully.
• They can fly under the radar if your cleaners don’t know what they are looking for or perhaps don’t follow best practices.
• They can be very dangerous to food plant continuity.
• The nasty pathogens can contaminate our food and cause health problems

What Can Be Done To Locate, Identify & Eliminate Biofilms?

BioFinder is a new technology that identifies biofilms in less than 30 seconds through having a chemical reaction with the biofilm produced by gram negative & positive pathogenic bacterial populations. The immediate benefit is, of course, no lag time like swabs, the information feedback loop is closed with a definitive answer as to the existence of a biofilm within seconds. Then of course chemical can be titrated and paired with abrasion the biofilm can be removed instantly. The BioFinder is in a trigger spray/squirt bottle and can be sprayed directly onto the surface, the orange solution will foam if a biofilm is present – if no reaction is present then you are in the clear!

Benefits Of Using BioFinder

• Provides a cost effective & incredibly efficient way to systematically identify hazards.
• Can be used in post clean analysis by the QA’s or leading hands as a clean. effectiveness measure.
• Over 1200 applications per box of 3 x 50ml bottles.
• BioFinder needs no special storage & is FSANZ approved.

Implementing BioFinder into your facilities Hazard control process will bolster your food safety integrity.

Are You Wanting Complete Confidence In The Hygiene Of Your Facility?

Eurofins a global leader in COVID-19 surface test kits has partnered with us to distribute their swap kits. Visit – https://sga.com.au/shop/ or click here to purchase swab testing kits from our online store.

Given the restrictions and outside pressure on food producers in the current environment – especially in Victoria, using surface swab COVID-19 test kits during pre-op could be the source of confidence you need to operate with peace of mind.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the focus of this article is to highlight some brilliant products that can help improve systematic identification of perhaps the two most dangers microbiological threats to food plants at current – Biofilms & Coronavirus. Both of these products can be used either in-house, as an effectiveness measure or be incorporated in cleaning processes.

We hope these products can help your food & beverage production plants and provoke confidence in these challenging times.

If you have any questions or queries, feel free to contact us at enquiry@sga.com.au

Stay Safe – The SGA Team