Microorganisms in Foods 7: Microbiological Testing in Food Safety Management

487 Pages·2018·9.47 MB·English

International Commission on Microbiological
Specifications for Foods (ICMSF)
Microorganisms
in Foods 7
Microbiological Testing in Food Safety
Management
Second Edition
Microorganisms in Foods 7
International Commission on Microbiological Specifications
for Foods (ICMSF)
Microorganisms in Foods 7
Microbiological Testing in Food Safety Management
Second Edition
International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF)
Robert L. Buchanan, editorial committee chair
Riverside Corporate Park CSIRO
North Ryde, New South Wales, Australia
ISBN 978-3-319-68458-1 ISBN 978-3-319-68460-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68460-4
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017959174
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Introduction to the Second Edition
Since the release of the first edition of Microorganisms in Food 7: Microbiological Testing in Food
Safety Management, the role of microbiological testing in food safety risk management has contin-
ued to evolve at a rapid rate. This reflects advances in microbiological testing methods and continu-
ing expansion of the role of risk analysis concepts and techniques in food safety programs and
policies. This includes the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods
(ICMSF) release of Microorganisms in Food 8: Use of Data for Assessing Process Control and
Product Acceptance, which included examples of how a risk-based approach can be used to imple-
ment risk-based microbiological testing programs as part of a food safety risk management
program.
As a result of the evolving landscape in microbiological food safety, the ICMSF has updated and
expanded Microorganisms in Food 7: Microbiological Testing in Food Safety Management to com-
municate new knowledge, its current thinking, and examples of the role of microbiological testing
within a risk analysis framework. As before, the second edition was developed by the commission
and a limited number of consultants.
In addition to the goals and topics covered in the first edition (see Preface/Introduction to the First
Edition), the ICMSF has substantially enhanced the second edition by augmenting the chapters cov-
ered in the first edition and adding several new chapters. This includes several new examples of the
application of risk-based testing that have built upon the development of a quantitative or semiquan-
titative risk assessment, the risk-based development of mitigation strategies, and the development of
risk-based microbiological sampling plans. The second edition includes new or updated examples
related to:
• Aflatoxin in peanuts
• Salmonella and Cronobacter in powdered infant formula
• Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat deli meats
• Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli on green leafy vegetables
• Viruses in oysters
• Campylobacter spp. in chicken meat
Each of the “example chapters” includes a risk evaluation (hazard identification, hazard charac-
terization, exposure evaluation, and risk characterization), a risk management option evaluation
(potential control measures; establishment of an Appropriate Level of Protection/Food Safety
Objective (ALOP/FSO); performance, process, and product criteria; acceptance criteria for the final
product), and consideration of Good Hygienic Practice (GHP), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Point (HACCP), and regulatory criteria.
v
vi Introduction to the Second Edition
Several new or substantially augmented chapters have also been added to the second edition.
These include:
• Sampling, Sample Handling, Sample Analysis, and Laboratory Quality Assurance
• Impact of Sampling Concepts on the Effectiveness of Microbiological Methods
• Sampling to Access Control of the Environment
• Tightened, Reduced and Investigational Sampling
As before, the second edition has been written with the dual goal of advancing risk-based food
safety concepts with practical guidance to maximize the effectiveness of microbiological sampling
programs while being cognizant of their limitations. The book has been written to take into account
the needs of a broad readership including the food industry, national and international government
agencies, as well as the academic and research communities. As always, the ICMSF would greatly
appreciate comments and suggestions on how the commission can better meet our goal of enhancing
a broad understanding of the role of microbiological testing in food safety risk management.
Introduction to the First Edition
Microorganisms in Foods 7: The Role of Microbiological Testing in Systems Managing Food Safety
(2001) was written by the ICMSF with assistance from a limited number of consultants.
Microorganisms in Foods 7 is based upon Part I of Microorganisms in Foods 2: Sampling for
Microbiological Analysis: Principles and Specific Applications (2nd ed. 1986). In the 1980s, the con-
trol of food safety was largely by inspection and compliance with hygiene regulations, together with
end product testing. Microorganisms in Foods 2 put such testing on a sounder statistical basis through
sampling plans, which remain useful at port of entry when there is no information on the conditions
under which a food has been produced or processed. At an early stage, the commission recognized that
no sampling plan can ensure the absence of a pathogen in food. Testing foods at ports of entry, or else-
where in the food chain, cannot guarantee food safety.
This led the commission to explore the potential value of HACCP for enhancing food safety, par-
ticularly in developing countries. Microorganisms in Foods 4: Application of the Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point (HACCP) System to Ensure Microbiological Safety and Quality (1988) illus-
trated the procedures used to identify the microbiological hazards in a practice or a process, to iden-
tify the critical control points at which those hazards could be controlled, and to establish systems by
which the effectiveness of control could be monitored. Recommendations are given for the applica-
tion of HACCP from production/harvest to consumption, together with examples of how HACCP can
be applied at each step in the food chain.
Effective implementation of HACCP requires knowledge of the hazardous microorganisms and
their response to conditions in foods (e.g., pH, a , temperature, preservatives). The commission con-
w
cluded that such information was not collected together in a form that could be assessed easily by food
industry personnel in quality assurance, technical support, and research and development and by those
in food inspection at local, state, regional, or national levels. Microorganisms in Foods 5: Characteristics
of Microbial Pathogens (1996) is a thorough, but concise, review of the literature on growth, survival,
and death responses of foodborne pathogens. It is intended as a quick reference manual to assist mak-
ing judgments on the growth, survival, or death of pathogens in support of HACCP plans and to
improve food safety.
Microorganisms in Foods 6: Microbial Ecology of Food Commodities (1998) is intended for those
primarily in applied aspects of food microbiology such as food processors, food microbiologists,
food technologists, veterinarians, public health workers, and regulatory officials. For 16 commodity
areas, it describes the initial microbial flora, the prevalence of pathogens, the microbiological con-
sequences of processing, typical spoilage patterns, episodes implicating those commodities with
foodborne illness, and measures to control pathogens and limit spoilage.
This book, Microorganisms in Foods 7: The Role of Microbiological Testing in Systems Managing
Food Safety (2001), illustrates how systems such as HACCP and GHP provide greater assurance of
vii
viii Introduction to the First Edition
safety than microbiological testing but also identifies circumstances where microbiological testing
still plays a useful role in systems to manage food safety. It continues to address the commission’s
objectives to (a) assemble, correlate, and evaluate evidence about the microbiological safety and
quality of foods; (b) consider whether microbiological criteria would improve and ensure the micro-
biological safety of particular foods; (c) propose, where appropriate, such criteria; (d) recommend
methods of sampling and examination; and (e) give guidance on appraising and controlling the
microbiological safety of foods.
This book introduces the reader to a structured approach for managing food safety, including
sampling and microbiological testing. The text outlines how to meet specific food safety goals for a
food or process using Good Hygienic Practice (GHP) and the HACCP system.
The concept of a Food Safety Objective (FSO) is recommended to industry and control authori-
ties to translate “risk” into a definable goal for establishing food safety management systems that
incorporate the principles of GHP and HACCP. FSOs provide the scientific basis for the industry to
select and implement measures that control the hazard(s) of concern in specific foods or food opera-
tions, control authorities to develop and implement inspection procedures to assess the adequacy of
control measures adopted by the industry, and quantify the equivalence of inspection procedures in
different countries.
Microbiological testing can be a useful tool in the management of food safety. However, micro-
biological tests should be selected and applied with knowledge of their limitations, as well as their
benefits and the purposes for which they are used. In many instances, other means of assessment are
quicker and more effective.
The need for microbiological testing varies along the food chain. Points in the food chain where
information about the microbiological status of a food will prove most useful for control purposes
should be selected. Similarly, in a food operation, samples may be collected from different points in
a process for control purposes.
Finally, a framework is provided by which importing countries can assess whether foods from
other countries have been produced in a manner that provides a level of protection equivalent to that
required for domestically produced foods.
This book illustrates the insensitivity of even statistically based sampling plans and encourages
a rational approach to the use of microbiological testing in systems that manage food safety through
GHP and HACCP. Several new chapters are based on the experience of the food industry in con-
trolling salmonellae, Listeria monocytogenes, and Escherichia coli O157:H7, on tightened or
investigational sampling, on microbiological testing of the processing environment, and on the use
of statistical process control to detect trends and work toward continuous improvement.
The book is intended to be useful for anyone who is engaged in setting microbiological criteria,
be it for the purpose of governmental food inspection and control or the industry. For students in
food science and technology, it offers a wealth of information on food safety management and many
references for further study.
Editorial Committee
R. L. Buchanan (Chairman)
W. Anderson
L. Anelich
J.-L. Cordier
R. Dewanti-Hariyadi
T. Ross
ix
ICMSF Members During Preparation
of the Second Edition
Chairman M. Cole
Secretary F. Kasuga (2011–2015) K. J. J. Swanson (2016–2017)
Treasurer J. M. Farber
Members W. Anderson D. W. Donahue
L. Anelich B. D. G. M. Franco (retired 2015)
K. N. Bhilegaonkar L. G. M. Gorris
R. L. Buchanan (retired 2011) X. Liu (retired 2014)
J.-L. Cordier (retired 2014) P. McClure
R. Dewanti-Hariyadi S. Chaven
M. Danyluk M. Taniwaki
J. Donaghy M. Zwietering
xi