120 PRINCIPLES OFFOODSANITATION
●Educate and train plant personnel in
hygienic practices, sanitation, and qual-
ity assurance.
●Collaborate with regulatory officials on
technical matters when necessary.A significant risk is involved if microbial
testing is conducted inside a food plant,
especially if pathogen testing is being con-
ducted. It is necessary for a laboratory to
enrich and culture large quantities of path-
ogenic microorganisms to perform analyti-
cal tests. Although products are usually
negative for pathogens, a well-managed in-
plant laboratory must use positive controls
on a daily basis. Thus, a serious risk is
involved because the plant may be cross-
contaminated through laboratory activities.
Food companies that perform on-site
pathogen testing should have properly
trained personnel, laboratory facilities that
are separate from the manufacturing area to
reduce the possibility of cross-contamina-
tion, and enough volume to support addi-
tional costs and resources required to
conduct pathogen testing. Other laboratory
requirements include an air handling sys-
tem designed to produce a negative air pres-
sure in the laboratory and to remove
biological agents (filtered air), a well-quali-
fied microbiologist with two or more years
of laboratory experience, adherence to the
Center for Disease control (CDC) safety
requirements for a Biosafety Level 2 labora-
tory, a pathogen monitoring program to
assess risk of cross-contamination of tests
and the food plant, and the use of a known
positive culture to verify recovery, conse-
quently requiring strict adherence to these
other requirements.
In-plant laboratories frequently promote
personnel that are not well versed in basic
laboratory techniques, aseptic sampling,
equipment calibration, or safety training.
Hazards can occur anytime in food laborato-
ries. So, technicians must be properly trained
on how to protect themselves and the facility,
on serious damage. Ongoing training for lab-
oratory technicians on good laboratory
practices and safety procedures should be an
integral part of all QA initiatives. Compa-
nies should consider enrolling laboratory
personnel in proficiency sample testing pro-
grams in choosing testing procedures that
have Association of Official Analytical
Chemists (AOAC) International Official
Methods certification. This certification
assures that analytical results can withstand
regulatory and legal scrutiny.
Another concern of company owned
operations is the safe disposal of biohaz-
ardous waste generated from pathogen tests.
Pouring enrichment broth down sinks or the
addition of bleach prior to discarding waste
materials is an inappropriate disposal
method, also being illegal in some states.The Role of ISO Accreditation
Because of risks involved, many food
companies are turning over their pathogen
testing to contract laboratories to reduce the
risk of cross-contamination from positive
controls on-site and existing issues surround-
ing biosecurity. In response to this trend,
more contract laboratories are pursuing
accreditation by the International Standards
Organization (ISO) to provide their cus-
tomers additional confidence in the validity
and accuracy of test results.
ISO accreditation exists in over 35 coun-
tries. All laboratories worldwide that are
accredited to ISO, work to the same inter-
nationally recognized standard, reinforcing
the integrity and consistency of the testing
or calibration that they undertake. ISO cov-
ers every aspect of laboratory management
such as sample preparation, proficiency
testing, record keeping, and reports while
ensuring that analytical results can with-
stand regulatory and legal scrutiny in the