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Neil Brown BSc (Hons) CBiol MI Biol – Technical Director, Freedom Hygiene Limited
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- Neil Brown BSc (Hons) CBiol MI Biol – Technical Director, Freedom Hygiene Limited's presentations
Speaker Bio:
Neil has gained both qualifications and practical experience across many areas of food hygiene and safety. A Cell Biologist at Aberdeen and Newcastle Universities, he moved first into Environmental Health, responsible for food hygiene standards in local factories and shops.
As Principal Food Technologist for a major retailer, he was responsible for NPD and quality across a wide range of fresh, cooked and deli meat products. Learning what was realistic in preparing and auditing manufacturing and micro specs proved valuable experience for Technical Support and Business Development when he worked for a company supplying detergents and disinfectants to the food, brewing and pharmaceutical industries.
Neil spent three years running his own company, writing risk analysis software for food manufacturers and performing audits for chemicals manufacturers, then a further 6 years as Technical Director of a large Contract Cleaner that worked solely within food manufacturing.
Neil recently sold his interests in his most recent company, that provided services in auditing, training and preparing suites of cleaning procedures and troubleshooting microbiological issues in order to focus on the challenges of bringing to market this radically new approach to the age-old problem of biofilm detection and removal.
Presentation Title:
Biofilms, The Hidden World In The Food Industry
Presentation Synopsis:
Biofilms represent possibly the greatest single risk factor to food safety.
Colonies of microorganisms can create a film attaching them to the substrate and protecting against even extreme environmental challenges; desiccation, temperature extremes, salinity and physical abrasion. It protects also against even oxidising biocides.
Mature biofilms often include pathogens, and as they periodically release some of the colony to exploit new resources and extend colonisation, this creates a real and continuing threat to product integrity, shelf life, and health.
Eradicating existing biofilms is difficult, and even enzyme treatments, often regarded as the preferred approach, can require several treatments. Given this difficulty and the potential impact on production, the logical strategy is prevention. Designing cleaning and disinfection programs that include regular checking to expose early biofilm formation, makes it possible to treat these quickly and effectively before they become established.
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