4 replies to this topic

[Bonte QA]

When doing a validation of handwashing techniques from a microbial standpoint, what is the Maximum CFU for TPC after sanitizer?

[Charles.C]

When doing a validation of handwashing techniques from a microbial standpoint, what is the Maximum CFU for TPC after sanitizer?

Dear Bonte,

I'm afraid there is no consensus on limits for this quantity. Approx. 2-3 years ago, I collected all the reported data on surfaces / hands which i could locate and posted as a table here (somewhere). There was at least a 100x range involved. Obviously it may relate to the process also, eg slaughterhouse vs bakery.

Rgds / Charles.C

[Charles.C]

Dear Bonte,

If you are still interested, i suggest you try searching here for "swab". This tends to cover all surfaces including hands. As an example the thread below contains (I think) the xref to the table I mentioned in previous post.

http://www.ifsqn.com...dpost__p__34656

Rgds / Charles.C

[Katja]

When doing a validation of handwashing techniques from a microbial standpoint, what is the Maximum CFU for TPC after sanitizer?

I tried to the do the same thing to validate our hand washing technique and could not find enough scientific data to say what is normal and what is abnormal bacterial hand counts. In the end i scrapped the idea and validated personal pracices and out training of it 3 ways
1) trending observation or non-conformities from our internal self-inspections where qc wlaks arounds once a month and ensures gmp and procedures are being followed
2) interviewing employees during internal audit
3) trending non-conformities form our health & hygiene inspection reports.
Any non-conformitiess in here would suggest our trainign was not sufficient as well as our personal practices (as i would specifically look at training in regards to personal practices)
It seemed to be accepted b our auditor.

I can say that from my bacterial counts results that after sanitizer use i got zero growth for TPC.
If you do find any data let us know
good luck

[Charles.C]

Dear Bonte,

Some groups consider that APC is not a useful criterion for hand assessment.
The following link is quite interesting / informative as a numerical study for assessing the hygiene across an exampled processing line / employees against given limits for E.coli / S.aureus / Enterobacteriaceae

 bb1 - assessing microbial performance FSMS systems.pdf   952.18KB   143 downloads

(Taken from my post in a later thread to that previously quoted in this thread, viz - http://www.ifsqn.com...dpost__p__48944 )

Rgds / Charles.C

@Katja - in the context of "validation" per se some people simply follow a standard procedure (eg Food Code) which presumably should be "good" enough. The "UV Glowing" hands screening method seems to be quite popular as a qualitative test also.