## 1 Introduction  
Despite all the efforts to eliminate the microorganisms present on the surfaces in the food industry, certain microbial communities can persist forming the resident microbiota. Important preventative measures against bacterial persistence are a judicious use of water, keeping the premises at a cold temperature, and frequent cleaning and disinfection [1]. In fact, multiple studies show the transfer capacity of microorganisms between food, surfaces, hands, and utensils, among others, highlighting the relevant role of cross-contamination in foodborne diseases [2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7]. Disinfection does not aim to sterilize surfaces but to reduce their microbial contamination to a safe, suitable level for their use [1]. There is a wide variety of bacterial families and variability in terms of the obtained results since many factors are at play such as the nature of the worked product. Nevertheless, _Pseudomonas_ spp., _Enterobacteriaceae_, _Acinetobacter_ spp., _Bacillus_ spp., _Staphylococcus_ spp., and lactic acid bacteria generally dominate on the surfaces of food facilities [8]. Persistent microorganisms can reach the final products through cross-contamination and consequently spoil them. These resident microorganisms can either inhibit the proliferation of pathogens or, on the contrary, enhance their establishment in mixed biofilms [9]. Any microorganism, pathogen, or spoilage such as _Pseudomonas_ spp. and _Listeria monocytogenes_ can form biofilms [10]. The resident microbiota can have a significant effect on the probability of finding _L. monocytogenes_ on food premises [11]. For example, in the presence of a natural microbiota on wooden shelves, inoculated _L. monocytogenes_ remained stable or even decreased to 2 log (CFU/cm\({}^{2}\)) after twelve days of incubation at 15 \({}^{\circ}\)C under all conditions tested. However, _L. monocytogenes_ increased to 4 log (CFU/cm\({}^{2}\)) when the resident biofilm was thermally inactivated [12], suggesting that the ecosystem residing in wooden shelves is able to control certain pathogens. _L. monocytogenes_ can also frequently be isolated after sanitation and still remain the most challenging microbial threat to the food industry, including the meat processing industry [13]. _L. monocytogenes_ persistence appears to be strongly linked to the manufacture of products and not to the sustained arrival of raw material. [PERSON] et al. showed that some clones survived in a studied manufacturing area for three years [14]. On the other hand, resident bacteria may play a role in the persistence and spread of antimicrobial resistance genes [15]. For these reasons, progress in the identification of established bacteria in food processing environments is essential. Few studies have characterized the resident species and their interactions with foodborne pathogens such as _L. monocytogenes_. On a practical level, conventional methods for surface sampling are used, such as swabs or sponges, which in certain cases do not guarantee the complete recovery of cells within biofilms [16]. Additionally, the most common procedure is to culture samples in a non-specific media at a temperature of 30 \({}^{\circ}\)C, thus missing the opportunity to identify psychrotrophic microorganisms. Another relevant aspect is the time lapse and temperature between collecting and analyzing the samples because these can alter the results [8]. Last, the proposed approach to the microbiological control of food contact surfaces has previously been the maximum reduction of the microbial load. Products and strategies have been designed to maximize cleaning and disinfection operations. However, a potentially interesting approach that has not yet been considered is the use of microorganisms with the ability to compete with pathogens, thereby preventing their growth. A recent study proposed that the hygienic theory of the surfaces traditionally used in the food industry could be reconsidered using this type of microorganisms, provided they have no type of spoilage effect on the food products [16].