Microbiological specifications and criteria

The safety of food is a top priority for food manufacturers. The reliance on 'end product testing' for microbiological safety is now moving towards the use of pre-set microbiological criteria as important tools to verify that HACCP and Good Practices (GMP, GHP, GAP, etc) are working.

With the drafting and adoption (on 1st January 2006) of EC Regulation 2073/2005 on Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs, the function of microbiological criteria in food production has been extensively discussed. The safety of food cannot be controlled by microbiological criteria alone, but they are useful for verification of HACCP and due diligence purposes. We can provide wide ranging advice and guidance in this area.

What are microbiological criteria?

Codex Alimentarius (1997) states:
“A microbiological criterion for food defines the acceptability of a product or food lot, based on the absence or presence, or number of microorganisms including parasites, and or quantity of their toxins/metabolites, per unit(s) of mass, volume, area or lot”

Generally 3 types of microbiological criterion are recognised:

1. A Microbiological Standard = a microbiological criterion contained in a law or regulation where compliance is mandatory.
   e.g. EC Regulation 2073/2005 on Microbiological Criteria for Foodstuffs.
   
   
2. A Microbiological Guideline = a microbiological criterion applied at any stage of food processing and retailing which indicates the microbiological condition of the sample and aids in identifying situations requiring attention for food safety or quality reasons.
   e.g. IFST (1999), PHLS/HPA (2000).
   
   
3. A Microbiological Specification = a microbiological criterion used as a purchase agreement for raw materials, ingredients or finished products.

To a food manufacturer, the microbiological criterion of a food product is just one component of the product specification

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Contact: info@campden.co.uk

Telephone: +44(0)1386 842000

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