Hi,
Under 9 CFR 430, establishments in Alternative 2b and 3 are required to sample food contact surfaces for Listeria monocytogenes or an indicator organism.
Source:
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2008-title9-vol2/pdf/CFR-2008-title9-vol2-sec430-4.pdf
As part of this testing, are establishments expected to identify all possible food contact surfaces for sampling? I wonder how do you interpret the above rule.
Warm regards,
Chris
@foodsafety #foodsafety
Implementation of environmental monitoring for Listeria monocytogenes should be based on risk assessment. There is no one program that fits for all. Looking for Listeria monocytogenes is of particular importance in the wet processing environment, which is conducive to Listeria growth. The monitoring program must look for the niches and harborage sites where there is a potential contamination of Listeria monocytogenes, this is not to be overlooked where RTE foods are exposed to the environment prior to to packaging and the packages foods are not subjected to a kill step. It is recommended to test product contact surfaces (for Listeria spp.) and occasionally testing finished product (for L. monocytogenes). This guidance might be helpful:
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/draft-guidance-industry-control-listeria-monocytogenes-ready-eat-foods
hi
You should be monitoring hygiene in terms of does your cleaning work, normally done by swabs for TVC and Entero. This must be a risk assessed plan to cover in the main food contact areas but also to demonstrate that cleaning is satisfactory in areas that are difficult to clean. You then need a similar plan to look for Listeria in your factory environment, this needs to be done pre and post cleaning and the swab points used will differ as you are not only trying to prove that Listeria is not on food contact surfaces but also that you have it under control in your environment. Listeria can establish itself in a food factory and often not on a food contact surface but has a habit then of getting into food products.
Fair point Keith Watkins Listeria biofilm established in the factory environment pose contamination risks that could potentially impact product quality and ultimately, customer safety. Therefore we should make no mistake when developing environmental sampling plans.
Thank you for your answer. I am grateful to have the support of people like you.
Warm regards,
Chris
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