ISO: Standard Strengthens Food Safety Measures - ISO 7218
October 29, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) released ISO 7218:2007 - Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - General requirements and guidance for microbiological examinations.
Its purpose is to:
- Help ensure the validity of food microbiology examinations.
- Assist in ensuring that the general techniques used for conducting these examinations are the same in all laboratories.
- Help achieve homogeneous results in different laboratories.
- Contribute toward the safety of the laboratory personnel by preventing risks of infection.
The standard also incorporates the new requirements on equipment metrology and quality management in laboratories, as well as the new technological developments in food microbiological examinations.
This international standard applies to the microbiology of food, animal feeding stuffs, the food production environment and the primary production environment (breeding). It covers examination for bacteria, yeasts and molds and can be used if supplemented with specific guidance for prions, parasites and viruses.
When conducting microbiological examinations, it is especially important that only those microorganisms that are present in the samples are isolated and enumerated and that the microorganisms do not contaminate the environment. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to pay attention to personal hygiene and to use working techniques that ensure, as far as possible, exclusion of extraneous contamination.
In order to conduct the examinations correctly, it is necessary to take certain precautions when constructing and equipping the laboratory, not only for reasons of hygiene, but also to ensure good reliability of the results. ISO 7218:2007 describes the main measures to be taken throughout the various stages of the food microbiological examination process, from receipt of samples by the laboratory to the contents of the test report and the disposal of samples.
If the guidance given in this standard is followed, this will also contribute toward maintaining the health and safety of personnel and to customer satisfaction with respect to the services offered by these laboratories.
ISO 7218:2007 - Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - General requirements and guidance for microbiological examinations, was developed by ISO/TC 34 - Food products - SC 9 - Microbiology, jointly with CEN/TC 275 - Food analysis - Horizontal methods - WG 6 - Microbial contamination.
Source: International Organization for Standardization (ISO).