AimsTo develop a gentle ablation technique to recover Listeria monocytogenes biofilms from stainless steel (SS) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surfaces by using compressed air and water injection. Methods and ResultsBiofilms were grown for 4, 24 and 48h or 7days and a compressed air and water flow at 2, 3 and 4 bars was applied for cell removal. Collected cells were quantified for total/dead by staining with SYTO 9/PI double staining and cultivable populations were determined by plating onto brain heart infusion (BHI) agar, while coupon surfaces also were stained with DAPI to quantify insitu the remaining cells. The recovery efficiency was compared to that of conventional swabbing. Results showed that the air/water ablation is able to collect up to 986% of cells from SS surfaces while swabbing only recovered 112% of biofilm. Moreover, air/water ablation recovered 999% of cells from PTFE surfaces. ConclusionsThe high recovery rate achieved by this technique, along with the fact that cells were able to retain membrane integrity and cultivability, indicate that this device is suitable for the gentle recovery of viable L.monocytogenes biofilm cells. Significance and Impact of the StudyThis work presents a highly efficient technique to remove, collect and quantify L.monocytogenes from surfaces commonly used in the food industry, which can thus serve as an important aid in verifying cleaning and sanitation as well as in reducing the likelihood of cross-contamination events.