This session is intended to provide an update on microbiological testing as part of managing and controlling food safety, focusing on the latest concepts and guidance developed by the International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF). Already in 1974, ICMSF put forth a sound statistical basis for useful microbiological testing, establishing the concepts of sampling plans and microbiological criteria for foods in international trade, which have been adopted by Codex Alimentarius and others. Nowadays, microbiological testing is applied to food safety and quality management in a number of ways. Governments may use pathogen or indicator testing for lot inspection or verification as a means of lot acceptance, for example at port of entry or for surveillance activities on products in commerce. Industry may use end-product tests for lot acceptance in customer-supplier relationships, while microbiological testing may also be used to design safe and stable products, or to verify the adequate performance of particular processes or control measures for food safety/spoilage or of the overall food safety management system (i.e. HACCP and pre-requisite programs; FSMA preventative controls based safety plan). When using microbiological tests to evaluate safety or quality of food, it is important to select and apply these with knowledge of their limitations, their benefits and the purposes for which they are intended. This session therefore will provide an update on the circumstances in which microbiological testing may play a useful role in the frame of modern, risk-based food safety management approaches, practical examples of such useful testing for a variety of foods and processing environments, and the latest concepts and tools supporting the statistical basis and operation of sampling plans and microbiological criteria.

Presentations