The detection and influence of food soils on microorganisms on stainless steel using scanning electron microscopy and epifluorescence microscopy

A range of food soils and components (complex [meat extract, fish extract, and cottage cheese extract]; oils [cholesterol, fish oil, and mixed fatty acids]; proteins [bovine serum albumin (BSA), fish peptones, and casein]; and carbohydrates [glycogen, starch, and lactose]) were deposited onto 304 2B finish stainless steel surfaces at different concentrations (10–0.001%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and epifluorescence microscopy were used to visualise the cell and food soil distribution across the surface. Epifluorescence microscopy was also used to quantify the percentage of a field covered by cells or soil. At 10% concentration, most soils, with the exception of BSA and fish peptone were easily visualised using SEM, presenting differences in gross soil morphology and distribution. When soil was stained with acridine orange and visualised by epifluorescence microscopy, the limit of detection of the method varied between soils, but some (meat, cottage cheese and glycogen) were detected at the lowest concentrations used (0.001%). The decrease in soil concentration did not always relate to the surface coverage measurement. When 10% food soil was applied to a surface with Escherichia coli and compared, cell attachment differed depending on the nature of the soil. The highest percentage coverage of cells was observed on surfaces with fish extract and related products (fish peptone and fish oil), followed by carbohydrates, meat extract/meat protein, cottage cheese/casein and the least to the oils (cholesterol and mixed fatty acids). Cells could not be clearly observed in the presence of some food soils using SEM. Findings demonstrate that food soils heterogeneously covered stainless steel surfaces in differing patterns. The pattern and amount of cell attachment was related to food soil type rather than to the amount of food soil detected. This work demonstrates that in the study of conditioning film and cell retention on the hygienic properties of surfaces, SEM may not reveal the presence of retained conditioning film, and thus methods such as epifluorescence microscopy should also be used. This is an essential facet to the methodology design of future work carried out in our laboratories on the effectiveness of the removal of cells and conditioning films from surfaces using different cleaning regimes.