Inactivation and removal of Bacillus cereus by sanitizer and detergent

This study was conducted to compare the susceptibility of planktonic cells, attached single cells and biofilm cells of Bacillus cereus to sodium hypochlorite and Spartec, a quaternary ammonium compound (QAC). Removal of B. cereus biofilm by simulating clean-in-place (CIP) procedures employing 1.5% Spec-Tak 1000, an alkaline detergent; 0.65% Dilac, an acid detergent and 1.5% Diverform Plus, a sodium hypochlorite containing alkaline detergent was also examined. The results show that B. cereus cells in a biofilm were most resistant to chemical sanitizers followed by the attached single cell and cells in a planktonic state. When B. cereus cells were in a planktonic state, 25 ppm hypochlorite or 100 ppm QAC induced a more than 5.0 log CFU/ml reduction of cell numbers within 15 s. However, the same sanitizer used in this study showed little effect on cells in a biofilm even when the exposure time was extended to 5 min. The sanitizers tested were less effective against cells in biofilm formed on milk pre-soiled than on unsoiled stainless steel chips. It was also noted that Spec-Tak 1000 treatment at 70 °C for 10 min and water rinse in the first step of the long-hot CIP procedure can effectively remove the biofilm B. cereus cells from the milk pre-soiled stainless chip. With this long-hot CIP procedure, the biofilm cells of B. cereus were removed by ca. 6.10 log CFU/chip compared to ca. 1.47 log CFU/chip noted in the control procedure.