Surface monitoring

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Hy Con Check line: sponges for environmental surface monitoring.

Testing the hygiene of surfaces in contact with food: from theory to practice is easy, with Kairosafe’s complete, ready-to-use solutions for environmental sampling.

 The hygiene of food contact surfaces during production and packaging is important because it prevents contamination and ensures food safety. Microorganisms are constantly present in food handling environments, where they can be introduced via raw materials, air, water, packaging and operators themselves.

Normal sanitary practices can eliminate them, but if contamination levels are high or sanitation procedures are inadequate, microorganisms tend to proliferate rapidly and adhere firmly, through the formation of biofilms, to surfaces which become potential sources of contamination of raw materials, semi-finished products. and finished products.

In order to guarantee the necessary safety conditions, it is therefore essential to carry out systematic checks on the surfaces of hazardous environments, developing a microbiological environmental monitoring protocol. Kairosafe’s Hy Con Check line includes a range of innovative solutions for environmental sampling, including sponges, wipes, swabs, and overshoes/overboots.

They are ready-to-use kits designed to sample work areas, equipment, animal carcasses and any other surface in order to test for Listeria, Salmonella, E. coli and other food-borne pathogens in industrial and environmental settings.

Kairosafe dry or wet sponges are made of cellulose and measure 6×8 cm.

Dry and wet sponges

Suitable for large, smooth and rough surfaces, hard-to-reach spots, carcasses. They allow optimal recovery of micro-organisms attached to surfaces and do not require any preparation, being pre-humidified or combined with test pieces with 10 ml of diluent, with or without a breakable handle and placed in resealable bags or homogenisation bags.

In accordance with the HACCP and GMP programs and to ISO standards 18593:2018 and 17604:2015, they are individually packaged in a bag. Available dry or wet with 10 ml of BPW, NBP, MRD, the sponges are with or without sampling template, and sterile gloves. The range includes viscose sterile cloths (25×40 cm) a flexible material perfect for sampling in hard-to-reach areas.

Also available dry or wet, with MRD, BPW, NPB, they can be supplied with or without sampling template. They are recommended for taking samples from larger surfaces, and allow the recovery of more microorganisms than sponges or swabs.

The choice of the optimal buffer

Kairosafe offers a wide range of buffers, including Buffered Peptone Water (BPW), Neutralizing Peptone Buffer (NPB), Maximum Recovery Diluent (MRD). BPW is specific for the sampling of carcasses in slaughterhouses (according to ISO 17 604: 2015) and in non-disinfected production areas, for the detection of specific germs such as Salmonella spp. and Listeria spp. which need revitalisation before sowing on selective soils. NPB can be used in the food as well as in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry.

Specific for sampling disinfected areas in production lines, it neutralizes the bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects of disinfectants. Also known as Peptone Saline Solution, MRD is a protective and isotonic medium used for maximum recovery of microorganisms from environmental and food samples. Recommended for carcass sampling in slaughterhouses, it is formulated in accordance with ISO 18 593 as a universal diluent (formulation specified in ISO 6887-1).