Viable but Nonculturable Listeria monocytogenes May Resuscitate After Transfer From Stainless Steel Biofilms to Vacuum-Packed Smoked Herring
Abstract
Listeria monocytogenes is a persistent foodborne pathogen capable of surviving sanitation and low-temperature conditions commonly encountered in food processing environments. Under environmental stress, the bacterium can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, characterized by retained metabolic activity but loss of culturability, making it undetectable by conventional microbiological methods. This study aimed to determine whether VBNC L. monocytogenes cells originating from biofilms can be transferred to a ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood product and subsequently resuscitate during refrigerated storage. Biofilms of L. monocytogenes Lm1 were formed for 24 h on stainless-steel coupons at 8°C and then exposed to two disinfectants known to induce the VBNC state: a quaternary ammonium-based disinfectant (QA) and a hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectant (HP). Both treatments significantly reduced the cultivable populations (-2.9 to -3.0 log CFU/cm²) while maintaining high viable counts (≈5 log GE/cm²), confirming VBNC induction. Treated and untreated biofilms were subsequently brought into contact with sterile smoked-salted herring pieces to simulate cross-contamination. L. monocytogenes was efficiently transferred in all cases, with viable populations remaining high (≈5-6 log GE/g) for untreated biofilms, and around 3 log GE/g for disinfectant-treated biofilms, in which most cells were in the VBNC state. During vacuum storage at 4 °C and 8 °C, VBNC cells on herring surfaces progressively regained culturability and reached 5-7 log CFU/g by the end of product shelf life (21 days). Similar trends were observed with HP induced VBNC cells and in mixed biofilms formed with Carnobacterium spp. These findings provide the first direct evidence that VBNC L. monocytogenes cells surviving on food-contact surfaces can be transferred to RTE seafood and resuscitate during storage under commercial refrigeration. This highlights a previously overlooked contamination pathway and emphasizes the need to include VBNC detection in hygiene monitoring and risk assessment strategies for vacuum-packed foods.
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BibTeX
@article{brauge2026viable,
title = {{Viable but Nonculturable Listeria monocytogenes May Resuscitate After Transfer From Stainless Steel Biofilms to Vacuum-Packed Smoked Herring}},
author = {Thomas Brauge and Guylaine Leleu and Aurélie Hanin},
journal = {Journal of Food Protection},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.jfp.2026.100775},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05834670v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Viable but Nonculturable Listeria monocytogenes May Resuscitate After Transfer From Stainless Steel Biofilms to Vacuum-Packed Smoked Herring
AU - Thomas Brauge
AU - Guylaine Leleu
AU - Aurélie Hanin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/22
JO - Journal of Food Protection
DO - 10.1016/j.jfp.2026.100775
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05834670v1
AB - Listeria monocytogenes is a persistent foodborne pathogen capable of surviving sanitation and low-temperature conditions commonly encountered in food processing environments. Under environmental stress, the bacterium can enter a viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state, characterized by retained metabolic activity but loss of culturability, making it undetectable by conventional microbiological methods. This study aimed to determine whether VBNC L. monocytogenes cells originating from biofilms can be transferred to a ready-to-eat (RTE) seafood product and subsequently resuscitate during refrigerated storage. Biofilms of L. monocytogenes Lm1 were formed for 24 h on stainless-steel coupons at 8°C and then exposed to two disinfectants known to induce the VBNC state: a quaternary ammonium-based disinfectant (QA) and a hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectant (HP). Both treatments significantly reduced the cultivable populations (-2.9 to -3.0 log CFU/cm²) while maintaining high viable counts (≈5 log GE/cm²), confirming VBNC induction. Treated and untreated biofilms were subsequently brought into contact with sterile smoked-salted herring pieces to simulate cross-contamination. L. monocytogenes was efficiently transferred in all cases, with viable populations remaining high (≈5-6 log GE/g) for untreated biofilms, and around 3 log GE/g for disinfectant-treated biofilms, in which most cells were in the VBNC state. During vacuum storage at 4 °C and 8 °C, VBNC cells on herring surfaces progressively regained culturability and reached 5-7 log CFU/g by the end of product shelf life (21 days). Similar trends were observed with HP induced VBNC cells and in mixed biofilms formed with Carnobacterium spp. These findings provide the first direct evidence that VBNC L. monocytogenes cells surviving on food-contact surfaces can be transferred to RTE seafood and resuscitate during storage under commercial refrigeration. This highlights a previously overlooked contamination pathway and emphasizes the need to include VBNC detection in hygiene monitoring and risk assessment strategies for vacuum-packed foods.
SN - 0362-028X
ER -