 |
Question: What areas should be swabbed, and what is the proper technique?
Answer:
Food contact areas (direct and indirect) and hard-to-clean areas should be the main focus of your swabbing program. Direct contact areas are surfaces where the presence of any contaminant will taint the final product. Indirect contact areas are those where splashed product, dust, or liquid has the potential to be dropped, drained, or transferred onto the product. Hard-to-clean areas may include filler heads, O-rings, nozzles, and areas with irregularly-shaped surfaces, corners, grooves and cracks. You should swab an area that is about 4 by 4 square inches (10 x 10 cm) – or in the case of a hard-to-clean area, as much of the surface as possible. Do not let the swab come into contact with anything other than the test area to avoid contamination. Apply pressure to the swab to pick up surface residue and penetrate any biofilm that may be present. After collecting the sample, place the swab back in swab tube. The swab can be left inactivated for up to 4 hours, but once the device has been activated, it should be read in the SystemSURE II within 10-60 seconds.
|
|
