6 replies to this topic

[LPRODUCE]

I am in the vegetable packing business and I am very new to this. I amlooking for some information on what is an acceptable reading of containiments on food contact surfaces. Any direction to seek this information would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[LPRODUCE]

opps sent it before I was done (lol)

I am in the vegetable packing business and I am very new to this. I am looking for some information on what is an acceptable reading of contaminants on food contact surfaces. Any direction to seek this information would be appreciated.

I have the BioTrace Uni-lite NG test equipment and using the Clean trace swabs.

Thanks!
LProduce

[Tony-C]

opps sent it before I was done (lol)

I am in the vegetable packing business and I am very new to this. I am looking for some information on what is an acceptable reading of contaminants on food contact surfaces. Any direction to seek this information would be appreciated.

I have the BioTrace Uni-lite NG test equipment and using the Clean trace swabs.

Thanks!
LProduce

Hi there

Results will vary from site to site, surface area swabbed and surface to surface. With this sort of system you should establish rlu levels by carrying out a study to establish acceptable levels based on taking a Clean trace swab, inspection to see if the surface is visibly clean and a micro swab.

Your results will give you and idea and trend where you can establish limits to work to and review on an ongoing basis. I have seen acceptable levels for a clean smooth impervious surface at < 100 rlu / 25 cm2.

Regards,

Tony

Edited by Tony-C, 21 June 2010 - 09:28 AM.

[LPRODUCE]

Thanks Tony C.

Hi there

Results will vary from site to site, surface area swabbed and surface to surface. With this sort of system you should establish rlu levels by carrying out a study to establish acceptable levels based on taking a Clean trace swab, inspection to see if the surface is visibly clean and a micro swab.

Your results will give you and idea and trend where you can establish limits to work to and review on an ongoing basis. I have seen acceptable levels for a clean smooth impervious surface at < 100 rlu / 25 cm2.

Regards,

Tony

[Jon5]

I am in the vegetable packing business and I am very new to this. I amlooking for some information on what is an acceptable reading of containiments on food contact surfaces. Any direction to seek this information would be appreciated.

Thanks!

LP:

I believe the manufacturer of that product gives a recommended RLU reading. However the right thing to do is definitely to gather data to validate swabbing in your process, as Tony mentions, and pair it with visual inspection. Utilizing a numeric scoring system for the visual inspection is a good idea, with descriptors for what each numeric value means. Visual inspection can be very subjective if no calibration is done.

I would also point out that you will see extreme variations in ATP results depending on swabbing technique, so it's critical that everyone train on swabbing technique - both an initial training, and a refresher training at a defined frequency to make sure everyone's still doing the same thing. Techniques will change over time.

Jon

[Claudia_QP]

opps sent it before I was done (lol)

I am in the vegetable packing business and I am very new to this. I am looking for some information on what is an acceptable reading of contaminants on food contact surfaces. Any direction to seek this information would be appreciated.

I have the BioTrace Uni-lite NG test equipment and using the Clean trace swabs.

Thanks!
LProduce

Hi Lproduce, if you have an idea of the cost of the equipment and cost per measure I would really appreciate it

[George @ Safefood 360°]

I find this an interesting post and one which is worth some further discussion. Why? Well, the use of ATP rapid testing methods are becoming more widely used in the industry and from my experience many companies and individuals are using them without an understanding of the basic science behind them. I think any innovative methods like ATP testing need to be used with some insight so the users understands exactly what information they are receiving, how to interpret the data and use it correctly in the management of food safety.

The principle of the method is based on the detection and measurement of of a molecule called Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is present in the cells of all living organisms. It is a component of the respiration cycle. The idea is that the presence of ATP equals the presence of living organisms equals the presence of contamination.

When ATP is brought into contact with reagents (enzymes) used in the testing method a chemical reaction takes place resulting in photons of light being emitted with an intensity proportional to the levels of ATP present and this can be used as a quantitative measure of contamination or effectiveness of cleaning. The results are expressed in relative light units RLU's.

The science is very straight forward however there are some considerations. Firstly, the method will detect ATP from living cells which is desirable. It will also detect ATP from dead cells unlike traditional swabbing methods that will only detect viable cells. It will also measure other organic materials / proteins etc. I have observed companies validating the method by conducting both ATP and traditional swabbing methods in parallel to generate a correlation between the two e.g. 10 rlu = 30 cfu's.

You also need to consider the ATP value of cleaning products and how they impact on your readings. The length of time between sampling and measurement can impact on the result as can the repeatability of you testing method.

In general these rapid tests can be of significant value to a food businesses. Used correctly and coupled with an understanding of what exactly they tell you, they can drive improvement. Ideal for a Go / No Go approach to the release of production equipment when validation has been completed.

George