045-051 Tompkin

The environment in which foods are prepared and handled can have significant impact on microbiological safety and quality, particularly for ready-to-eat foods. Outbreaks associated with Listeria monocytogenes and salmonellae have led to an increasing awareness that certain pathogens can persist in food processing environments, contaminate foods as they are being processed and lead to foodborne illness (1, 2). To prevent such unacceptable contamination many food processors have established environmental sampling programs to monitor and verify whether their Good Hygienic Practices (GHP) are effective and being correctly applied (2). Environmental sampling programs differ in many respects from the lot acceptance sampling plans described by Drs Cordier and Dahms (see their presentations in this journal). Environmental sampling is designed to assess the effectiveness of GHP, control certain pathogens and/or spoilage microorganisms within the environment and prevent contamination of food. Thus, such programs are used as a tool to prevent contamination rather than evaluate whether food is acceptable. This agrees with the intent of GHP and HACCP; namely, to prevent food safety problems from occurring and not rely on end product testing to sort “good food” from “bad food”. Another difference is that the number and location of the sites selected for sampling are based on experience with the specific food operation and are not statistically designed. Instead, environmental sampling should be viewed as an ongoing investigational sampling program. If lot acceptance testing indicates a specific lot of food is not in compliance with specifications, environmental sampling is commonly used as the framework to investigate how the food became contaminated and how to prevent future unacceptable lots. When establishing a routine environmental sampling program it is necessary to decide how, when and where samples will be collected. The sampling method will vary depending on the food process. Basically, the method of sampling (e.g., sponge sampling of a product contact surface, floor sweepings, residue on filters) should be Lectures