Research area

Hygiene

Infection of food with bacteria from the production area can lead to reduced food quality and less safe food. Nofima Mat has competence in hygiene and can help food companies to find potential sources of infection and weaknesses in hygiene routines.

Many cases of food poisoning occur in the home. Nofima Mat is working on finding the most important causes of food poisoning in the home and measures to prevent them. Nofima Mat is researching into how bacteria behave and develop, why some survive in the production environment and what we can do to prevent the bacteria surviving. We are investigating the factors which cause bacteria to survive on surfaces and create biofilms (coatings) and how this causes them to be more difficult to eliminate with cleaning. We are also investigating the extent to which cleaning can cause resistance to disinfection agents and what defence mechanisms bacteria use. Nofima Mat is involved in several projects which include trials of new, alternative cleaning methods.

None Photo: Bård Gudim
Copyright: Opplysningskontoret for kjøtt

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Research area within Hygiene

Biofilm

Bacteria that grow on surfaces can produce a slime that causes a coating we call biofilm. This is created particularly rapidly on surfaces that are constantly damp and not regularly cleaned, such as production equipment where cleaning is difficult.

Desinfection and resistance

Washing and disinfection are important measures for avoiding good raw materials being infected during the production process with bacteria that can either spoil the raw materials or cause illness. Most food companies are therefore careful to wash and disinfect both equipment and premises after the end of production, so that everything is clean for the next day.

Sporogenous bacteria

Practically all bacteria will be killed when a food is heated to temperatures between 70 and 100oC. Some types of bacteria however have a unique ability to survive high temperatures. These are bacteria that create spores.