Introduction toHygiene Monitoring

Contents1. The Role of Hygiene Monitoring in Food Safety

2. Cleaning and Sanitation

3. Monitoring Methods

4. An Overview of ATP Bioluminescence

Food Safety Issues• Foodborne Illness in the United States

– 76 million illnesses every year1 – 325,000 hospitalizations1

– Estimated 5,000 deaths/year1

– Most foodborne illness is preventable

• 80% of foodborne illness associated with “unsanitary conditions”2

1Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, September 19992 Source: Dr. Joellen Feirtag, Food Safety Specialist, U. of MN, USA

Sanitation - The Foundation for Food Safety

• Critical part of plant operations• Cornerstone of Good Manufacturing Practices

(GMP)• Must be in place and working before HACCP

implementation– SSOP’s (Standard Sanitation Operating

Practices) essential prerequisites for HACCP

– Satisfies regulatory requirements

– HACCP is now mandated throughout the world

“Implementing HACCP on top of a bad cleaning and sanitizing program is like building a skyscraper in a swampthere’s no foundation.”

- Dr. Robert Gravani, Cornell University

Sanitation - The Foundation for Food Safety

Conditions for Bacterial Contamination

• Source of bacteria

+ Food

+ Water

+ Time

Sources of Pathogenic and Spoilage Bacteria • Raw Product• Air• Water• Employees• Processing Equipment• Packaging Material • Ingredients• Transport Vessels

Controlling Contamination – Cleaning and Sanitizing

• Cleaning is the removal of residues– Residues can be fat, protein, carbohydrate,

bacteria, mineral or a combination

– Residues supply bacteria with nutrient source, removing them “starves” them out

• Sanitizing is the destruction of bacteria after residues have been removed – Sanitizing is not effective on dirty surfaces

Monitoring

• Essential to understanding contamination • Should take place after every cleaning cycle

– Processing is in a constant state of flux• Human element• Changes in processes, machinery, product or

season

Relative Cost of Monitoring

• Processing plants spend hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to clean and sanitize their facilities

• Spending only a small percentage of their budget on monitoring is a smart business decision

How to Monitor

• Organoleptic • Protein Detection• Traditional Microbiology• ATP Bioluminescence

Protein Testing

• Limited to foods high in protein• Does not detect total biological residue• Medium indicator of cleaning effectiveness• Immediate results, but qualitative

Traditional Microbiology and Bioluminescence• Traditional Microbiology

– Measures only viable organisms– Results in 24 hours to 7 days– Not effective on real-time monitoring

• ATP Bioluminescence– Measures total biological residue– Immediate, actionable results – Better indicator of cleaning effectiveness

• Both have their place in a monitoring program

Bioluminescence Technology

• Commercial application over 25 years old• Cleaning validation application proven • Widely adopted by private and public sector• Among ATP bioluminescence systems,

LIGHTNING has become the industry standard worldwide for accurate cleaning validation

What is ATP?

• Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)• Molecule for energy storage used by all types

of living cells • ATP is found in most food residues and in all

bacteria, yeast and mold• Most ATP found in food processing and

preparation areas is from food residue

What is ATP Bioluminescence?

• The technology of detecting ATP using bioluminescence

• Light is emitted when ATP is combined with a luciferin-luciferase reagent containing an enzyme found in fireflies

• LIGHTNING MVP builds on this natural phenomenon by utilizing a proprietary luciferin-luciferase reagent formula and a highly sensitive light detection device

ATP Bioluminescence

ATP + (Luciferin + Luciferase) = LIGHT

Benefits of ATP Testing

• Proven technology• Satisfies HACCP sanitation prerequisite• Measures total biological residue• Immediate, actionable results • Quantitative results• Better indicator of cleaning effectiveness