It is well established that a high percentage of foodborne illness is caused by failure of consumers to prepare food in a hygienic manner. Indeed, a common practice in households is to use the same kitchen equipment for both raw meat and fresh produce. Such a practice may lead to cross-contamination of fruits and vegetables, which are mainly consumed without further processing, with pathogenic microorganisms originating from raw meat. The present study was performed to examine the transfer of the pathogenic bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from inoculated beef fillets to tomatoes via contact with high-density polyethylene (PE), stainless steel (SS), and wooden (WD) surfaces and through cutting with SS knives. Furthermore, the following decontamination procedures were applied: (i) rinsing with tap water, (ii) scrubbing with tap water and liquid dish detergent, and (iii) using a commercial antibacterial spray. When surfaces and knives that came into contact with contaminated beef fillets were not cleaned prior to handling tomatoes, the lowest level of pathogen transfer to tomatoes was observed through PE surfaces. All of the decontamination procedures applied were more effective on knives than on surfaces, while among the surface materials tested, WD surfaces were the most difficult to decontaminate, followed by PE and SS surfaces. Mechanical cleaning with tap water and detergent was more efficient in decontaminating WD surfaces than using commercial disinfectant spray, followed by rinsing only with water. Specifically, reductions of 2.07 and 1.09 log CFU/cm(2) were achieved by washing the WD surfaces with water and detergent and spraying the surfaces with an antibacterial product, respectively. Although the pathogen's populations on SS and PE surfaces, as well as on tomatoes, after both aforementioned treatments were under the detection limit, the surfaces were all positive after enrichment, and thus, the potential risk of cross-contamination cannot be overlooked. As demonstrated by the results of this study, washing or disinfection of kitchen equipment may not be sufficient to avoid cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods with foodborne pathogens, depending on the decontamination treatment applied and the material of the surfaces treated. Therefore, separate cutting boards and knives should be used for processing raw meat and preparing ready-to-eat foods in order to enhance food safety.

The objective of the present study was the evaluation of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and multispectral imaging (MSI), in tandem with multivariate data analysis, as means of estimating the microbiological quality of sea bream. Farmed whole ungutted fish were stored aerobically at 0, 4 and 8 °C. At regular time intervals, fish samples (i.e. cut portions) were analysed microbiologically, while FTIR and MSI measurements also were acquired at both the skin and flesh sides of the samples. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) models were calibrated to provide quantitative estimations of the microbiological status of fish based on spectral data, in a temperature-independent manner. The PLSR model based on the FTIR data of fish skin exhibited good performance when externally validated, with the coefficient of determination (R 2 ) and the root mean square error (RMSE) being 0.727 and 0.717, respectively. Hence, FTIR spectroscopy appears to be promising for the rapid and non-invasive monitoring of the microbiological spoilage of whole sea bream. On the other hand, the performance of the MSI models was not satisfactory. Nonetheless, as suggested by model optimization results, MSI may also provide useful information with regard to fish microbiological quality, with its definite competence warranting further investigation.

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Nowadays, modification of surfaces by nanoparticulate coatings is a simple process that may have applications in reducing the prevalence of bacterial cells both on medical devices and food processing surfaces. To this direction, biofilm biological cycle of Salmonella Typhimurium, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Staphylococcus aureus, and Yersinia enterocolitica on stainless steel and glass surfaces, with or without nanocoating was monitored. To achieve this, four different commercial nanoparticle compounds (two for each surface) based on organo-functionalized silanes were selected. In total 10 strains of above species (two for each species) were selected to form biofilms on modified or not, stainless steel or glass surfaces, incubated at 37°C for 72 h. Biofilm population was enumerated by bead vortexing-plate counting method at four time intervals (3, 24, 48, and 72 h). Organosilane based products seemed to affect bacterial attachment on the inert surfaces and/or subsequent biofilm formation, but it was highly dependent on the species and material of surfaces involved. Specifically, reduced bacterial adhesion (at 3 h) of Salmonella and E. coli was observed (P < 0.05) in nanocoating glass surfaces in comparison with the control ones. Moreover, fewer Salmonella and Yersinia biofilm cells were enumerated on stainless steel coupons coated with organosilanes, than on non-coated surfaces at 24 h (P < 0.05). This study gives an insight to the efficacy of organosilanes based coatings against biofilm formation of foodborne pathogens, however, further studies are needed to better understand the impact of surface modification and the underlying mechanisms which are involved in this phenomenon.

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