Beyond disinfection: innovative strategies for tackling resilient foodborne contaminants

Resilient contamination formed by foodborne pathogens in food processing environments-including biofilms, persister bacteria, viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells, and spores-are the root causes of persistent cross-contamination and recurrent food safety risks. However, existing studies primarily characterize individual contaminants phenotypically, lacking systematic integration of these four persistent states from shared mechanisms to targeted interventions. This review first establishes a comprehensive framework classifying these four states as "resilient contaminants" in food environments and systematically elucidates the common molecular foundations, their unique structural characteristics and stress adaptation mechanisms driving their resilience. Furthermore, it proposes a shift from traditional "killing" to targeted "intervention and reawakening" strategies to mitigate cross-contamination at its source by blocking resilient contaminants formation or activating their metabolism to restore antimicrobial susceptibility. Finally, it emphasizes the urgent need to redefine "viability" in food safety regulations to address the "hidden threats" posed by the dormant state, thereby providing a theoretical basis for risk control and technological innovation regarding resilient contaminants in food processing. This integrated framework not only deepens mechanistic understanding of resilient contaminants but also helps food safety technologists develop anti-resilience technologies, and supports regulators in revising detection standards to capture the true microbial risk in food processing environments.