The influence of the flow milk circulation in the bacterial adhesion of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was evaluated by simulation tests through a circuit model of milk processing. The circuit is composed of a tubulation of stainless steel AISI 304, with 1.9 cm of diameter, 5.8 m of length and a tank of 25 L used as the reservoir of the product and sanitizer solutions. The reservoir was coupled to a centrifugal bomb of ½ HP to impel the food or sanitizer solutions for the system equipped with 90º and T cylindrical stainless steel specimens. The speed of circulation values were 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m.s-1, corresponding to turbulent flow with number of Reynolds 14.000, 28.000 and 42.000, respectively. When flow of 0.5 m.s-1 was used 10.7% the cells remained adhered, however at the speed values of 1.0 and 1.5 m.s-1 the adhesion percentages were 5.36 and 4.9%, respectively. These findings indicate a lower removal rate of adhered cells as flow decreases allowing higher number of bacteria to adhere to the production line, which can favor the biofilm formation.
bacterial adherence; biofilm; milk
