Need some help interpreting hand swab results?

Hello,

I have recently done swab tests on hands of 3 of my factory workers and results obtained are as follows:

Enumeration of microorganisms ranging from 85 , 100 and 55 cfu/cm<sup>3.

Are these results conformed?

Rudra</sup>

Hello,

I have recently done swab tests on hands of 3 of my factory workers and results obtained are as follows:

Enumeration of microorganisms ranging from 85 , 100 and 55 cfu/cm<sup>3.

Are these results conformed?

Rudra</sup>

Dear Rudra,

more info. req.eg -

worker handling what ? beef carcasses, pizza ?
measurement = ? APC ?
cm^3 of what ?
local legislation = ?
sampling situation = ?

For hand swabs taken directly after cleaning/sanitising, one micro. limit in use (from many possibilities) for APC is count of 100/cm^2 (note the cm^2) . There are various others, some more strict, some less. Some experts consider the measurement of APC for hands a waste of time.

Rgds / Charles.C

Dear Rudra,

more info. req.eg -

worker handling what ? beef carcasses, pizza ?
measurement = ? APC ?
cm^3 of what ?
local legislation = ?
sampling situation = ?

For hand swabs taken directly after cleaning/sanitising, one micro. limit in use (from many possibilities) for APC is count of 100/cm^2 (note the cm^2) . There are various others, some more strict, some less. Some experts consider the measurement of APC for hands a waste of time.

Rgds / Charles.C

Hello Charles,

Thanks for your quick reply.
In fact workers are handling dry pellets ( we produce dry animal feeds)
measurement is cfu per cm3 of sample collected.
we dont have any legal limits here.
samples were taken by technicians of SGS lab ( sub contracted) from hands of workers.

Thanks to advice

Hello Charles,

Thanks for your quick reply.
In fact workers are handling dry pellets ( we produce dry animal feeds)
measurement is cfu per cm3 of sample collected.
we dont have any legal limits here.
samples were taken by technicians of SGS lab ( sub contracted) from hands of workers.

Thanks to advice

Dear Rudra,

The answer to your query probably depends on the specific test method used by the contracted company.

I suggest you ask the company what the counts actually are (eg aerobic colony count, coliform, ??) and what their (acceptable) standard is. If you don’t understand the answer, can re-post here.

Rgds / Charles.C

Hello,

I have recently done swab tests on hands of 3 of my factory workers and results obtained are as follows:

Enumeration of microorganisms ranging from 85 , 100 and 55 cfu/cm<sup>3.

Are these results conformed?

Rudra</sup>

Hi Rudra,

As Charles has indicated a clean hand would generally be regarded as having a TPC of < 100cfu/cm2. Acceptable levels would depend on circumstances and risk of the product. With your dry animal feed these results would seem fine.

Check and confirm what test the results were for (Total Plate Count?) and when the swabs were taken.

Common microbiological tests on hands include Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae and E.coli.

Kind regards,

Tony

Hi Rudra,

As Charles has indicated a clean hand would generally be regarded as having a TPC of < 100cfu/cm2. Acceptable levels would depend on circumstances and risk of the product. With your dry animal feed these results would seem fine.

Check and confirm what test the results were for (Total Plate Count?) and when the swabs were taken.

Common microbiological tests on hands include Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriaceae and E.coli.

Kind regards,

Tony

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate. You know what? I asked an accreditated lab ( SGS) to advise me on swab test. The latter told me to do enumeration of microorganisms. So I did it. After having the results I asked the lab if results were conformed and what's the limits. The lab manager told me that there is no limits for this test.
I did a lot of search on the net but I couldnot find any. What to do?

Thanks

Hi Tony,

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate. You know what? I asked an accreditated lab ( SGS) to advise me on swab test. The latter told me to do enumeration of microorganisms. So I did it. After having the results I asked the lab if results were conformed and what's the limits. The lab manager told me that there is no limits for this test.
I did a lot of search on the net but I couldnot find any. What to do?

Thanks

Hi Rudra
The lab managers should help you more than that, they are there to do so.
you can set your limits of course the less the better and do forget (validation)
in our factory eg we set for the staph <20cfu.
this may help
bibi