Microbiological tests of workers hands

Hello everyone,

I need some help in microbiology ....

I usually do some microbiological tests from the persons that manipulate food.
The test is very simple (PCA - microrganisms at 30ºC) - enclosed you can see a picture of it.

In the picture enclosed you can see a test that i have done to a worker.That test have a bacteria growth, however it a small growth.Should i consider the test acceptable or unsatisfactory??

Actually i would look at doing entro's or staph plates rather than tvc as they would be more appropriate.
But you should count every colony, regardless

You need to set your own limits, for TVC i would probably say < 100 cfu

caz x

Hello Caz,

Thanks for your quick reply

Please tell me what is TVC, i don't know what is is .

I have to count all the colonies on the plate?

I do enterobacteriaceae spp. also but usually i don't have any groth on those (good news)
For enterob. what is the limit on the count plates?Any growth should be classified as unsatisfatory (on enterobact. plates)??

best regards

Andreia

Hello everyone,

I need some help in microbiology ....

I usually do some microbiological tests from the persons that manipulate food.
The test is very simple (PCA - microrganisms at 30ºC) - enclosed you can see a picture of it.

In the picture enclosed you can see a test that i have done to a worker.That test have a bacteria growth, however it a small growth.Should i consider the test acceptable or unsatisfactory??

Dear Andreia..

IMEX.. i use TVC (Total Viable Count) for operator hand..According to EUGMP Standard max. of micro. is 5 CFU(for gloves of operator) that standard for Hygiene Class B ..
The method that I Use is Contact plate (PCA - Aerobic mesophilic bacteria )

Dear Andreia,

The exact importance may depend on what you are doing, eg working in a slaughterhouse or manufacturing food for astronauts ?

There is a very detailed thread on this topic (surface counts) in the forum (search for initiator wamamili [from memory]).

With respect to yr original query, you could always repeat the test ??

Rgds / Charles.C

Where I work, we only carry out Staph. aureus and E. coli screening on hands. Out of interest, are you all using sponge swabs or stick swabs?