Microbiological criteria

Question 1

what is microbiological criterion?

Answer 1

acceptability of a product or process based on absence, presence or number of microorganisms or toxins/metabolites

Question 2

what are the aspects of microbiological criteria?

Answer 2

states microorganisms of concern
qualitative/quantitative analytical method
critical limits based on data
sampling plan/procedure

Question 3

what are the two microorganism criteria?

Answer 3

food safety criteria
process hygiene criteria

Question 4

what is food safety criteria?

Answer 4

defines the acceptability of a product or batch of foodstuff applicable to products on the market

Question 5

what is the food safety criteria only defined for?

Answer 5

pathogens/foodstuffs combination that is on the market and considered an efficient contribution to public health

Question 6

what are motives to meed food safety criteria?

Answer 6

risk of recalls and economic loss
consumer confidence

Question 7

what does process hygiene criteria indicate?

Answer 7

acceptable functioning of the production process

Question 8

what does process hygiene criteria set for production?

Answer 8

contamination value for which corrective action is required if they are exceeded

Question 9

why are microbiological criteria needed?

Answer 9

validation and verification
assess acceptability of a batch of food
communicate the level of hazard control

Question 10

is microbiological criteria cable of being used on its own to guarantee food safety?

Answer 10

no - need other legislation

Question 11

what are microbiological standards?

Answer 11

mandatory criteria used to determine the acceptability of a food with regards to a regulation/policy

Question 12

what are microbiological specifications?

Answer 12

used by buyers to reduce the likelihood of purchasing proudest that aren’t safe of of good quality

Question 13

what ate microbiological guidelines?

Answer 13

indicates the expected microbial content of a food when best practices are applied

Question 14

what are the most common microbiological hazards in food?

Answer 14

listeria, salmonella, enterobacter, E. coli, campylobacter, staphylococcus

Question 15

what are the two types of sampling plans?

Answer 15

two class
three class

Question 16

what is a two class sampling plan based on?

Answer 16

presence/absence of a pathogen

Question 17

what are the specification for a two class sampling plan?

Answer 17

n - number of sample units
m - maximum acceptable number of bacteria
c - maximum acceptable number of sample units that may exceed m

Question 18

how is a two class sample plan interpreted?

Answer 18

satisfactory - counts below m
unsatisfactory - counts above m

Question 19

how can a three class sample plan be interpreted?

Answer 19

satisfactory - values below m
acceptable - maximum c values between m and M and below m
unsatisfactory - values greater than M

Question 20

what are the specifications for three class sampling plans?

Answer 20

n - number of sample units
m - acceptable number of bacteria
M - maximum acceptable number of bacteria
c - maximum acceptable number of sample units between m and M

Question 21

what factors may affect the development of microbiological criteria?

Answer 21

availability of risk assessment, dose response data, consumer exposure data, data on microbial levels

Question 22

what are some types of samples for microbiological testing?

Answer 22

excision (carcass)
wet/dry swabbing
whole carcass
meat sample
batch sample

Question 23

what temperature should samples be transported at?

Answer 23

cool perishable samples - <4
frozen food - frozen
canned foods - <40

Question 24

what can be some problems associated with examination of pathogens?

Answer 24

fastidious
expensive
multiple stages of isolation - long time