This study investigated the suitability of the Calgary Biofilm Device (CBD), originally designed as a test surrogate for indwelling medical devices. for assessing the efficacy of antimicrobials developed for food and food contact surface disinfection applications. The conditions for the development of uniform biofilms from pure and mixed bacterial cultures of wild type Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua were optimized. We were able to recover approximate to 2 x 10(6) colony forming units (CFU) from the biofilms formed on the individual pegs of the device in 24 h. Further, the parameters for the consistent release of the cells from the biofilms were optimized; test showed that the number of cells released was uniform and reproducible. The consistency and reproducibility of the biofilms formed on the pegs was evaluated using scanning electron microscopy and by plate count method. The efficacies of disinfectants on cells residing in biofilms versus planktonic cells were compared. For both species, higher concentrations of disinfectants were needed to eliminate attached cells as compared with planktonic cells. This study establishes the value of the CBD for generating consistent biofilms from either pure or mixed cultures. These biofilms can be used to assess efficacies of disinfectants against cells that have colonized the surfaces of foods and food-processing equipment. Such a system could serve as a standard surrogate for evaluating new disinfectants designed to reduce or eliminate biofilms from food-contact surfaces. Published by Elsevier Ltd.