The biofilm life cycle where bacteria alternate between biofilm and planktonic lifestyles poses major implications in food spoilage and gastrointestinal infections. Recent studies had shown that freshly biofilm-dispersed cells have a unique physiology from planktonic cells, raising the fundamental question if biofilm-dispersed cells and planktonic cells disseminate differently across food surfaces. Mechanical dislodging via cutting can cause biofilm dispersal and eventual food cross-contamination. Here, we showed that biofilm-dispersed bacteria from various foodborne pathogens were transferred from freshly cut surface at a higher rate to the cutting material than that of planktonic bacteria. When the cutting tool was used to cut a fresh surface, more biofilm-dispersed bacteria were disseminated from the cutting tool to the newly cut surface than planktonic bacteria. Our observations were applicable to cutting tools of various materials and cut surfaces, where polystyrene and surfaces with high water content were most susceptible to biofilm transfer, respectively. Simple washing with detergent and mechanical wiping could aid bacterial removal from cutting tools. Our work revealed that biofilm-dispersed cells were transferred at a higher rate than planktonic cells and cutting tool was an important medium for pathogen cross-contamination, thus providing insights in maintaining their cleanliness in food processing industries.

细菌在生物膜和浮游生活方式之间交替的生物膜生命周期对食物腐败和胃肠道感染产生重大影响。最近的研究表明，新鲜的生物膜分散细胞具有与浮游细胞不同的独特生理机能，这就提出了一个基本问题，即生物膜分散的细胞和浮游细胞在食物表面的传播方式是否不同。通过切割机械移动会导致生物膜扩散和最终的食物交叉污染。在这里，我们表明，与浮游细菌相比，来自各种食源性病原体的生物膜分散细菌以更高的速率从新鲜切割的表面转移到切割材料。当使用切削工具切削一个新的表面时，与浮游细菌相比，更多的生物膜分散细菌从切割工具传播到新切割的表面。我们的观察适用于各种材料的切割工具和切割表面，其中聚苯乙烯和高含水量的表面分别最容易受到生物膜转移的影响。用清洁剂简单清洗和机械擦拭可以帮助去除切削工具上的细菌。我们的工作表明，生物膜分散细胞的转移速度高于浮游细胞，切割工具是病原体交叉污染的重要媒介，从而为在食品加工行业中保持其清洁提供了见解。其中聚苯乙烯和含水量高的表面分别最容易受到生物膜转移的影响。用清洁剂简单清洗和机械擦拭可以帮助去除切削工具上的细菌。我们的工作表明，生物膜分散细胞的转移速度高于浮游细胞，切割工具是病原体交叉污染的重要媒介，从而为在食品加工行业中保持其清洁提供了见解。其中聚苯乙烯和含水量高的表面分别最容易受到生物膜转移的影响。用清洁剂简单清洗和机械擦拭可以帮助去除切削工具上的细菌。我们的工作表明，生物膜分散细胞的转移速度高于浮游细胞，切割工具是病原体交叉污染的重要媒介，从而为在食品加工行业中保持其清洁提供了见解。