Microbiology testing plans – development and review
Microbiology testing is an essential part of the monitoring, verification and validation of some HACCP plans. The factors determining the frequency of testing are many and various. These include legislative and customer requirements, HACCP requirements and supplier monitoring. They may also include previous results at the site. For more information on microbiological hazards, click here.
Regular reviews of the testing plan are recommended and amendments made to the plan should be documented.
We have seen many examples of plans which are inappropriate and/or costly. The testing requirements at start up is very different, once production is established with known and trusted supply and team members. Environmental monitoring can show when changes to air filters and other engineering and hygiene equipment is needed.
Alimenti can review your testing plan and recommend adapting your plan, if appropriate.
There is more information here on developing an environmental sampling plan and here about laboratory samples.
Surface hygiene assessment
Do you know how good your cleaning is, as a hotelier or restauranteur? Read more here.
There are many different methods for assessing the hygiene of a surface, with the primary hand and food contact surfaces being the focus. Rapid methods for assessing total hygiene of a surface use ATP (Adenosine Tri Phosphate) and a bio luminescence technology. These take the ATP from any source, microbiological, food, general dirt and extract it. ATP mixed with reagents produces light. This is measured using a luminometer. More light produced equals more energy from the ATP. This leads to a higher reading from the luminometer and the dirtier the surface. ATP is the energy storage chemical in all living cells. The measurement is total hygiene.
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