Role of mechanical vs. chemical action in the removal of adherent Bacillus spores during CIP procedures
Résumé
This study was designed to evaluate the respective roles of mechanical and chemical effectson the removal of Bacillus spores during cleaning-in-place. This analysis was performed on 12 strainsbelonging to the B. cereus group (B. cereus, B. anthracis, B. thuringiensis) or to less related Bacillusspecies (B. pumilus, B. licheniformis, B. sporothermodurans, B. subtilis). Adherent spores weresubjected to rinsing-in-place (mechanical action) and cleaning-in-place (mechanical and chemicalresistance to shear was not related to spore surface properties. Conversely, in the presence of NaOH atdetached during CIP and the chemical action greatly depended on the strain. This finding suggests thatchemical action plays the major role during CIP, whose efficacy is significantly governed by the sporesurface chemistry.