Food Safety Magazine, February/March 2013

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Food Safety Insider: Sanitation SolutionsRapid Cleaning ValidationTestswww.weberscientific.comAwidely publicized press release in 2010 from the SafeFoods Coalition and the Pew Initiative estimated the costof foodborne illness to be $152 billion annually. Accordingto Ben Chapman of North Carolina State University, other studies,using a different methodology, show a much higher figure of$1.4 trillion. Either way, it is obvious that foodborne illness is anexpensive problem.Of the top five food safetyproblems, “poor plant andequipment sanitation” scored75 percent in another study,clearly correlating good sanitationand food safety.Traditional methods todetermine cleanliness are traditionalvisual inspection andmicrobial assays. Over the lastcouple of decades, adenosinetriphosphate (ATP), proteinresidue and glucose residueswabs have also becomeestablished methods.Richard F. Stier, consulting food scientist and Food SafetyMagazine Editorial Advisory Board member, has indicated thattraditional methods of determining cleanliness, such as visualinspection and microbial assays, have both value and limitations.Microbiological analysis typically requires two or more days tocomplete, and a particular analysis such as aerobic plate count(APC) is limited in the types of microorganisms detected. Further,microbiological analyses do not detect organic residue resultingfrom ineffective cleaning. Visual inspection only allows gross levelsof organic residue—those that are visible to the naked eye—tobe detected.Mr. Stier has also suggested the following for hygienemonitoring:• Ideally, should be in “real time”• Simple, easy-to-use tools• Allow for rapid response• Ease of documentationA number of products manufactured by Hygiena and availablefrom Weber Scientific nicely meet these criteria.The protein residue swabs include ALLER-Snap and PRO-Clean. Both detect protein residues left on a surface aftercleaning, are read through a colorimetric change without aninstrument and have different levels of sensitivity.With ALLER-Snap, you swab a surface, release the reagentand incubate the device for 15 minutes. If protein residue ispresent, the reagent will turn purple. The color change providesa semi-quantitative measure of the surface cleanliness. Themore contamination is present, the quicker and darker the colorchange. This swab detects down to 1 µg protein. This extraordinarysensitivity is suitable for allergen monitoring. The cost pertest is around $2.00.PRO-Clean works similarly but doesnot require an incubation step. A positivewill also turn purple with results inunder 10 minutes and most changestaking place in under 60 seconds. It detectsdown to 10 µg protein and costsaround $1.50 per test.SpotCheck detects minuteamounts of glucose, which is a componentof 85 percent of all foods andbeverages; since it measures simplesugars, you can detect all major foodgroups with or without any proteincontent. Expect to pay $1.30 to $1.70per test.ATP bioluminescence technologymay offer higher sensitivity, in someinstances, to colorimetric swabs.All living organisms contain ATP. Inhygiene monitoring applications, ATPbioluminescence systems are generallycalibrated using a relative lightunit, thresholds for “clean” or “dirty.”Completely clean surfaces—thosefree of food residue and microorganisms—willnot have detectable levels ofATP. Unclean food manufacturing andpreparation equipment and utensils willhave recoverable amounts of ATP fromfood residue and perhaps microbialcells. Keep in mind that ATP measuresboth live and dead organic matter so itmeasures “clean or dirty.” Detection ofmicrobes, if present, is coincidental.The Hygiena ATP system uses aluminometer and their all-in-one swabdevice. Depending upon your particularneeds, two luminometers are available:systemSURE PLUS or EnSURE(which can also measure coliforms usingother swab devices); and a choiceof two ATP swab devices, SuperSnapor Ultrasnap. The procedure is thesame throughout: swab, activate, insertinto the instrument and read the resultsin 15 seconds. And since ATP is instrument-based,it comes with softwarethat walks you through the establishmentof your hygiene protocols.SuperSnap detects to 0.1 femtomoles(the smallest possible detectableamount) of ATP. Ultrasnap detectsto 1.0 femtomoles. The EnSURE andsystemSURE PLUS luminometers havea sensitivity to 0.1 and 1.0 femtomoles,respectively. An aseptic fill operation,for example, may want the higher detectionlevel compared to a distributionarea. Per test, swab costs run around$2.00.40 F o o d S a f e t y M a g a z i n e
Specialists in Food & BeverageSampling SuppliesWe Carry ManyHard-to-find &Exclusive ProductsSterile microbiological samplingkits from Puritan®Made in the USA and a terrific valueESK® swab and solution• Choose frommost popularsolutions –neutralizing,Butterfield’s,Letheen andPeptone• Available in 10 or 4 mL fill• Around $0.84 per kitEnviroMax Plus® pre-moistenedfoam tip swab kits• Superior swabbingfor Listeria,Salmonella andother pathogens• Strong flexiblehandle shaft• Biocide free absorbent foam• Around $1.60 per kitProtein residue rapid test swabsVisual read – no instrument requiredALLER-Snap detectsdown to 1 µg protein• Extraordinarysensitivity issuitable forallergenmonitoring• Results aftera 15 minuteincubation• Around $2.00 per testPRO-Clean detects down to 10 µgprotein• Results in under 10 minutes with mostchanges under 60 seconds• Around $1.50 per testRequest your FREE copytoday of our 265-pagebuyer’s guide!Call 800-328-8378 orvisit weberscientific.comRCS Air SamplersEffective microbial monitoringof ambient air• Factory calibratedfor use withprepared mediastrips• Samples at 40liters perminute• Set volumes20, 40, 80, 160and 320L – 0.5, 1, 2,4 or 8 minutesLegendary for great prices since 1959800-328-8378 • weberscientific.comDippas® Sterile Sampling SystemDipper andsample container –All-In-One• Long handleneatly snaps offafter sampling• Leak-proofcontainer• 30 to 250 mLcapacity available• As low as $0.50eachLABORATORY SUPPLIERAWARD WINNING
Page 4 and 5: February/March 2013Vol. 19, No. 1FE
Page 6: Editor’s LetterWe at Food Safety
Page 10 and 11: USDA Seeks Comments on ProposedFroz
Page 12: TestingBy Katerina Mastovska, Ph.D.
Page 15 and 16: Testingheat treatment, the toxins c
Page 17 and 18: staying connectedto your data hasne
Page 19 and 20: PROCESS CONTROL1. Scope2. Normative
Page 21 and 22: SANITATIONapproach, 1, 2 while effe
Page 23 and 24: SANITATIONis a matter of legal liab
Page 25 and 26: Accreditationment undertaken by the
Page 27 and 28: AccreditationFood Microbiological L
Page 29 and 30: MANAGEMENTcertain spices. As no acc
Page 31 and 32: MANAGEMENTtook so long to be resolv
Page 33 and 34: Choose ConfidenceChoose Confidence
Page 35 and 36: Special advertising supplement pres
Page 37 and 38: AccuracyQualitySafetyHACCP Monitori
Page 39: THE SANITARY CHOICEFOR FOOD SAFETYT
Page 44 and 45: PACKAGING(continued from page 34)fo
Page 46 and 47: Animal Welfareand Food SafetyBy F.
Page 48 and 49: Animals versus PlantsBefore discuss
Page 50 and 51: Percent (between 0 to 1) / $100 spe
Page 52 and 53: Despite developments in traceabilit
Page 54 and 55: INGREDIENTSBy Rupa Das, M.Sc.Qualit
Page 56 and 57: SEAFOODBy Gary P. Richards, Ph.D.,
Page 58 and 59: SEAFOODfoods is essential to reduci
Page 60 and 61: SEAFOOD(infectious and noninfectiou
Page 62 and 63: Product ShowcaseShelf-Life Extender
Page 64 and 65: Coupler BrakeForce Control Industri
Page 66 and 67: Advertisers IndexAdvanced Instrumen
Page 68 and 69: Allergens LabeledSanitation Verifie
Page 70 and 71: Solutions for Today,Planning for To
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Food Safety Magazine, February/March 2013

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