After the Listeria crisis, here are some solutions to detect bacteria and good practices in the food industry.
At the moment, when we talk about food safety, we cannot stop thinking about the public health crisis unleashed about a month ago: the most important listeriosis infection in Spain, which has affected more than 200 people.
Meanwhile, food manufacturers and producers are increasingly aware of the importance of environmental microbiological hygiene control in manufacturing processes in the food industry.
At present, there are great facilities with the development of methods easy to use, fast and accurate to detect bacteria such as Listeria.
Within our catalogue of devices for the detection of bacteria, we have a Listeria kit, which can be accessed through this link.
What does it consist of?
This is a range of swabs (samples) for the detection of Listeria on environmental surfaces. It is easy to use and achieves high levels of sensitivity and specificity.
It meets all the requirements of the ISO Standards for environmental analysis (ISO 18593:2004 (E)) through the use of pre-wetted swabs.
How does it work?
Path-Check® Listeria is incubated at 25°C for 24-48 hours. This test can also be incubated at 30°C, but may increase the risk of false positives.
If specific target bacteria are present in the sample swab, the bacterial growth will cause the media color to change.
The Importance of Cleanliness in the Food and Beverage Industry
And now, we're going to learn about a number of good practices for the food and beverage industry, endorsed by Nilfisk, one of the cleaning instruments companies we work with. The goal: safer, healthier and cleaner working environments.
- Floors: cleaning to remove dirt and increase workplace safety. In production areas, industrial vacuum cleaners and vacuum systems are recommended.
- Roofs: overlooked, but it is possible that particles accumulating on roof beams cause technical problems and even product contamination.
- Production lines: a cleaning program must be followed to help prevent the product from being contaminated with burnt crumbs, flour or other production residues.
- Liquid Recovery: Nilfisk produces industrial vacuum cleaners designed for cleaning areas where liquids and organic solids need to be vacuumed.
- Ovens: the interior of the ovens must be kept free of burnt crumbs, flour or any other production residue that could cause contamination of the product.
- Washing machines: for deep cleaning, hydrocleaners can be used, an ideal solution for daily cleaning in small areas, thanks to its compact design. They can also be used to clean containers and floors in their loading and unloading areas.