The fourth pillar of food safety - Environmental monitoring

How do you achieve control of Salmonella and Listeria in the food processing environment?

By Dr. Douglas Marshall, Eurofins Scientific, USA

Traditional food safety control programs have focused on three pillars; Good Manufacturing Practices, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points programs. Now a fourth control program is being emphasized by regulatory bodies namely, Environmental Monitoring. Sadly, the importance of environmental monitoring was recently demonstrated by the deadly U.S. listeriosis outbreak associated with cantaloupes. The outbreak had more fatalities than any other foodborne disease occurrence in recent U.S. history. Failure to control the causative agent Listeria monocytogenes in the food processing environment was the cause of the outbreak.

Current regulatory thinking is that companies should be routinely monitoring the food processing environment to identify and control habitats that support the survival and spread of foodborne pathogens. In response, the Eurofins U.S. Food Division has put together an Environmental Monitoring Guide describing in detail how to effectively control Salmonella and Listeria in the food processing environment. The guide articulates the zone approach to testing direct food contact and non-food contact surfaces for the presence of pathogens and indicator microorganisms. Recommendations on test locations, frequency of testing, and number of samples to collect are provided. The guide also includes recommendations on procedures for sample collection, record keeping, establishing performance targets, tracking trends, and the correction of any deficiencies identified. A copy of the guide can be obtained from Eurofins’ U.S. Marketing at http://www.tfaforms.com/219443.

This guide is just one example of many food safety services offered by the global network of Eurofins laboratories. Other services include auditing and consulting services focused on risk identification, training of managers and operators in risk minimization processes, and providing appropriate sampling tools and analytical services including the analysis of environmental samples as well as samples representing ingredients, intermediate, and final products. For further information about how Eurofins can be of assistance please contact your local representative.

Contact: DouglasMarshall@eurofinsus.com