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Dishwashing sponges and brushes: consumer practices and bacterial growth and survival

2021Journal article Open access
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dc.contributor.authorMøretrø, Trond
dc.contributor.authorMoen, Birgitte
dc.contributor.authorAlmli, Valérie L.
dc.contributor.authorTeixeira, Paula
dc.contributor.authorFerreira, Vânia B.
dc.contributor.authorÅsli, Anette Wold
dc.contributor.authorNilsen, Charlotte
dc.contributor.authorLangsrud, Solveig
dc.date.accessioned2020-12-10T13:01:12Z
dc.date.available2020-12-10T13:01:12Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractSponges are frequently used in kitchens and have been shown to harbor large numbers of bacteria, occasionally also pathogens. Less is known about kitchen brushes regarding usage and presence of bacteria. In the present study, the use of sponges and brushes was studied in a survey among 9966 European consumers in ten countries, and growth and survival of bacteria in sponges and brushes were examined in laboratory experiments. Sponges were the preferred hand-cleaning utensils for washing-up in the majority of countries, while brushes were most frequently used in Denmark and Norway. Consumers mostly change their sponges at regular times, but also sensory cues (looks dirty, smelly, slimy) and usage occurrences such as wiping up meat juices may trigger replacement. Besides cleaning the dishes, over a quarter of the dish brush users also use it to clean a chopping board after soilage from chicken meat juices. The water uptake and drying rate varied considerably, both between different sponges and between brushes and sponges, where brushes dried fastest. Campylobacter survived one day in all sponges and Salmonella more than seven days in two of three types of sponges. In the type of sponge that dried slowest, Salmonella grew on the first day and was always found in higher levels than in the other sponges. Non-pathogenic bacteria grew in the sponges and reached levels around 9 log CFU/sponge. In brushes all types of bacteria died over time. Campylobacter and Salmonella were reduced by more than 2.5 log to below the detection limit after one and three days, respectively. Bacteriota studies revealed a tendency for a dominance by Gram-negative bacteria and a shift to high relative prevalence of Pseudomonas over time in sponges. Both enumeration by agar plating and bacteriota analysis confirmed that the pathogens were in a minority compared to the other bacteria. Treatments of sponges and brushes with chlorine, boiling or in the dishwasher were effective to reduce Salmonella. We conclude that brushes are more hygienic than sponges and that their use should be encouraged. Contaminated sponges or brushes should be replaced or cleaned when they may have been in contact with pathogenic microorganisms, e.g. used on raw food spills. Cleaning of sponges and brushes with chlorine, boiling or dishwasher may be a safe alternative to replacing them with new ones.pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.citationMøretrø, T., Moen, B., Almli, V. L., Teixeira, P., Ferreira, V. B., Åsli, A. W., Nilsen, C., & Langsrud, S. (2021). Dishwashing sponges and brushes: consumer practices and bacterial growth and survival. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 337, [108928]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2020.108928pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2020.108928pt_PT
dc.identifier.eid85094980079
dc.identifier.issn0168-1605
dc.identifier.pmid33152572
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/31450
dc.identifier.wos000600914600014
dc.language.isoporpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherElsevierpt_PT
dc.relationSafeConsumE: Safer food through changed consumer behavior: Effective tools and products, communication strategies, education and a food safety policy reducing health burden from foodborne illnesses
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/pt_PT
dc.subjectKitchen hygienept_PT
dc.subjectSpongept_PT
dc.subjectBrushpt_PT
dc.subjectSalmonellapt_PT
dc.subjectCampylobacterpt_PT
dc.subjectCleaningpt_PT
dc.subjectConsumer practicespt_PT
dc.titleDishwashing sponges and brushes: consumer practices and bacterial growth and survivalpt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.awardTitleSafeConsumE: Safer food through changed consumer behavior: Effective tools and products, communication strategies, education and a food safety policy reducing health burden from foodborne illnesses
oaire.awardURIinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/727580/EU
oaire.citation.titleInternational Journal of Food Microbiologypt_PT
oaire.citation.volume337pt_PT
oaire.fundingStreamH2020
person.familyNameAlmli
person.familyNameTeixeira
person.familyNameBorges Ferreira
person.familyNameLangsrud
person.givenNameValerie
person.givenNamePaula
person.givenNameVânia
person.givenNameSolveig
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-9641-3333
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-6296-5137
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-7093-9193
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-6415-017X
person.identifier.ridJ-8678-2014
person.identifier.ridK-1343-2014
person.identifier.scopus-author-id36473115300
person.identifier.scopus-author-id7005895206
person.identifier.scopus-author-id8317338900
project.funder.identifierhttp://doi.org/10.13039/501100008530
project.funder.nameEuropean Commission
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
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