**Abstract**

This chapter presents the ability of some pathogenic (*Listeria monocytogenes*, *Escherichia coli*, *Salmonella enterica*, *Campylobacter jejuni*, *Pseudomonas aeruginosa*) and toxigenic bacteria (*Bacillus cereus*, *Staphylococcus aureus*) to form biofilms and contribute to the persistence of these microorganisms in the food industry. Particularities regarding attachment and composition of biofilms formed in food and food processing environments are presented and genes involved in biofilm production are mentioned. To give a perspective on how to fight against biofilms with new means, nonconventional methods based on bacteriocins, bacteriophages, disruptive enzymes, essential oils, nanoemulsions and nanoparticles, and use of alternative technologies (cold plasma, ultrasounds, light-assisted technologies, pulsed electric field, and high pressure processing) are shortly described.

**Keywords:** bacteriocin, essential oils, bacteriophages, nanoemulsion, alternative technologies

### **1. Introduction**

Food matrices having water activities above 0.9 and wet food processing environments are wonderlands for microorganism multiplication and biofilm development. Biofilms are considered of great concern in regard to functioning of mechanical parts that may be blocked, to energy consumption, which becomes higher when heat transfer decreases, and to corrosion as corrosion rate of surfaces increases underneath biofilms (corrosion grows 10–1000 times faster causing loss of material and increasing porosity) but their presence in food and food processing environments is also a serious public health risk due to problems associated with foodborne illnesses and food spoilage [1].

The biofilms that are threatening the safety of food products are produced by some pathogenic bacteria such as *Listeria monocytogenes*, *Escherichia coli*, *Salmonella enterica*, *Campylobacter jejuni*, and *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* and toxigenic bacteria such as *Staphylococcus aureus* and *Bacillus cereus* [2]. Biofilms are responsible for persistence of such bacteria in food processing environments and (re)contamination

of processed foods [3]. When contamination of food products happens, recalls are necessary. These actions present large economic burden to industry and are also associated with brand damage.
