ISO 18593 Food Chain Microbiology - Horizontal Methods for Surface Sampling

The ISO 18593 standard, developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), describes horizontal methods for sampling techniques that use contact plates, sticks, sponges and cloths on surfaces in a food chain environment to detect and count pathogenic or non-pathogenic bacteria or culturable microorganisms such as yeasts and molds.

The term environment means any element that comes into contact with the food product or is likely to represent a source of contamination or re-contamination.is attached. For example, materials, facilities or operators.

This standard does not apply to validation of cleaning and disinfection procedures. This standard does not cover sampling techniques for primary production samples covered by the ISO 13307 standard (ISO 13307 Microbiology of food and animal feed - Primary production stage - Sampling techniques). Sampling techniques for carcasses are covered by the ISO 17604 standard (ISO 17604 Microbiology of the food chain - Carcass sample for microbiological analysis). Sampling techniques for the analysis of noroviruses and hepatitis A viruses are covered by the ISO 15216-1 standard (ISO 15216-1 Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the determination of hepatitis A virus and norovirus using real-time RT-PCR - Part 1: Method of quantification).

The ISO 18593 standard does not recommend sampling frequency, the number of sampling points, or the need for rotation of sampling points, as they are chosen on a case-by-case basis. This standard also does not apply to the validation of cleaning and disinfection procedures.

It is important to determine the presence or number of microbes on the surfaces of kitchen utensils, work surfaces and other equipment in the food chain environment to predict the level of contamination in the food chain environment. In this respect, this standard describes horizontal methods for surface sampling.

Sampling schemes aim to assess the microbial contamination levels of surfaces from the food chain environment in order to implement corrective actions to prevent food contamination by microorganisms.

Within the scope of ISO 18593 standard, our organization, with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment, among the numerous test, measurement, analysis and evaluation studies it has given for businesses in various sectors, Microbiology of the food chain also provides testing services suitable for horizontal methods for surface sampling.