Is it necessary to ATP Swab the Floors?

Hi all,

 

I thought I remember this being discussed as a must in my SQF Training course, but I can't seem to recall. It is difficult to get a passing number on the floors, even after a thorough cleaning. So, is this a must, or have I been wasting my time?

 

Thanks all.

 

~Wayne

I wouldn't unless you have some insanely high-risk process where the floor must be practically sterile...

Thanks for the quick response. Me and my SQF crony were scrubbing the floor so hard and coming back with fail after fail. Concrete just holds it's dirt. haha

Hi all,

 

I thought I remember this being discussed as a must in my SQF Training course, but I can't seem to recall. It is difficult to get a passing number on the floors, even after a thorough cleaning. So, is this a must, or have I been wasting my time?

 

Thanks all.

 

~Wayne

 

 

I wouldn't unless you have some insanely high-risk process where the floor must be practically sterile...

 

 

Hi Wayne,

 

I agree with RMAV. We don't ATP swab floors in our facility (although low-risk). We sponge swab drains to test for pathogens, but ATP swabbing the floor is pretty much useless, unless you have a process like RMAV stated.

 

QAGB

unless, your food product is directly placed on the floor. You'll be needing ATP swab on equipment and facility in direct contact with food products. Though, cleaning on floor is really a must.

I wouldn't waste time and money using ATP to swab a floor, it is usually too sensitive and may not give consistent results on some surfaces.

 

Periodic TVC & Entero swabs should be sufficient to give an indication of the effectiveness of your floor cleaning.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

As part of a reasonable Environmental Monitoring Program I'd agree with comments above and swab drains periodically. If you do have a positive you can out a corrective action plan in place to vector out from there to determine a root cause if possible.

I wouldn't waste time and money using ATP to swab a floor, it is usually too sensitive and may not give consistent results on some surfaces.

 

Periodic TVC & Entero swabs should be sufficient to give an indication of the effectiveness of your floor cleaning.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

 

 

As part of a reasonable Environmental Monitoring Program I'd agree with comments above and swab drains periodically. If you do have a positive you can out a corrective action plan in place to vector out from there to determine a root cause if possible.

 

Thank you Esquef, any adverse result should of course be followed up (with pathogens swabs as well) but ATP testing of floors is not general practice and largely irrelevant.

 

Kind regards,

 

Tony

Thank you Esquef, any adverse result should of course be followed up (with pathogens swabs as well) but ATP testing of floors is not general practice and largely irrelevant.
 
Kind regards,
 
Tony

Yes Tony. I agree about the use of ATP swabs and should have made my post more clear. By swabbing drains I was referring to pathogen swabbing. IMO ATO has no correlation with pathogen swab micro results.

On my food safety scheme it is only required on food contact surfaces.

Check yours. I haven't heard of it being used on floors.

We require ATP swabs on food contact surfaces at my facility.  All other Zones (including the floor) only use bacterial swabs.

 

I also agree with the earlier posts that state that ATP swabs shouldn't be used on the floor unless your process requires near-total sterility at one or more points.

We require ATP swabs on food contact surfaces at my facility.  All other Zones (including the floor) only use bacterial swabs.

 

I also agree with the earlier posts that state that ATP swabs shouldn't be used on the floor unless your process requires near-total sterility at one or more points.

 

Hi john,

 

I don't understand why you use ATP swabs on fcs rather than "bacterial" ? Time ?

 

i don't understand why you (bacterially) swab the floor unless part of an ESP such as a drain ?

Hi john,
 
I don't understand why you use ATP swabs on fcs rather than "bacterial" ? Time ?
 
i don't understand why you (bacterially) swab the floor unless part of an ESP such as a drain ?

Allow me to clarify. Both ATP and bacterial presence (aka identificying the presence of listeria, salmonella, etc) swabs are required on FCS.

And yes, the swabbing of the floor is a part of our Environmental Monitoring program.

Allow me to clarify. Both ATP and bacterial presence (aka identificying the presence of listeria, salmonella, etc) swabs are required on FCS.

And yes, the swabbing of the floor is a part of our Environmental Monitoring program.

 

Hi John,

 

Thanks for the clarity.

 

I assume "floor" = specific locations, eg drainage points.

You are correct.

ATP swabs are not the be all and end all.  They are not always accurate and can give a "pass" result even when visible debris is present (although of course the presence of visible debris should mean a fail.)

 

I personally wouldn't swab floors for TVC either but I would swab them for appropriate pathogens, e.g. Listeria.

 

For those who swab floors for TVCs / Enteros, what limits do you have?