Determination of Bio_lms on Plastic Cutting Boards

Biofilm formation on food processing surfaces has been well documented. Plastic cutting boards used in the foodservice/commercial food preparation kitchen setting would be ideal surfaces for a biofilm to form. The purpose of this experiment was to determine if biofilms were capable of forming on cutting boards that were used in a food-service/commercial food preparation kitchen. Three 25cm2 surface areas were randomly selected on 15 plastic cutting boards (n = 45) from a food preparation kitchen to be swabbed before and after proper cleaning and sanitizing. Swabs were diluted in buffered peptone water, serial dilutions made on Plate Count Agar and incubated for 48 hours at 37°C. The average aerobic plate count for the plastic cutting boards before sanitation was 1.31 x 10 E4 + 2.00 x 10 E4 CFU/25 cm2. After sanitation of the plastic cutting boards, the average aerobic plate count was 1.35 x 10 E3 + 1.91 x 10 E3 CFU/25 cm2. The results indicate that plastic cutting boards, even after cleaning and sanitizing, can support biofilms when they are heavily scarred and discolored.