Abstract
The ability of Campylobacter jejuni strains to attach to stainless steel as they became nonculturable during storage in distilled water at 4°C for 30 days was investigated. From an initial count of ∼7 log colony-forming units/mL all strains completely lost culturability by day 20, but the numbers of cells attaching to stainless steel remained constant at ∼3.5 log cells/cm2. These findings suggest that viable but nonculturable Campylobacter in a liquid matrix can still attach to stainless steel.