Best Practices and Considerations for Your Environmental Monitoring Program
May 15, 2023

In this blog post, explore the importance of environmental monitoring programs (EMPs), the role of surface sampling devices in environmental monitoring, different types of sampling devices, and factors that impact microbial recovery. To watch the latest webinar, click here.
Jump to your question:
- What is environmental monitoring?
- What is an environmental monitoring program (EMP)?
- Why is an environmental monitoring program important?
- How often should environmental monitoring be done?
- What is the difference between food-contact and nonfood-contact surfaces?
- What is the environmental monitoring zone concept?
- What are the possible different surface characteristics in a facility?
- What are the various sampling devices that can be used for environmental monitoring?
- How do I know which sampling device to use?
- What is the importance of using appropriate neutralizing agents?
- What factors do I need to consider for environmental sampling?
- What are key factors impacting microbial recovery?
What is environmental monitoring?
- The act of sampling surfaces to determine the presence of a specific analyte (e.g., ATP, microorganisms, allergens).
What is an environmental monitoring program (EMP)?
- An EMP is a defined program for monitoring the environment of a food manufacturing facility to prevent cross contamination of the finished product from the environment. Environmental monitoring programs often encompass a range of tests — from ATP and indicator organisms to pathogens, spoilage organisms, and allergens.
Why is an environmental monitoring program important?
- EMPs are important to determine harborage sites of microorganisms on processing equipment. It’s designed to verify if surface cleaning and sanitation programs are effective or may be more generally seen as a strategy to monitor the environment for unhygienic conditions that may lead to food safety and/or quality issues. The overall goal is to reduce risk of foodborne pathogen transmission via cross-contamination.
How often should environmental monitoring be done?
- The frequency in which samples are collected as part of an EMP is very dependent on the equipment, product being processed, breaks, and cleaning and sanitation frequency. The frequency is often determined using a risk-based analysis when setting up an EMP.
What is the difference between food-contact and nonfood-contact surfaces?
- Food-contact surfaces are any surface, tool, or piece of equipment that comes into contact with food. This includes preparation tables, conveyors, wash tanks, spinners, mixers, and utensils.
- Nonfood-contact surfaces are any surface, tool, or piece of equipment adjacent but does not come in direct contact with food. This includes floors, drains, carts, and equipment housing.
What is the environmental monitoring zone concept?
- Zone 1 is the food contact surfaces. This could include slicers, peelers, fillers, hoppers, screens, conveyor belts, air blowers, employee hands, knives, racks, worktables.
- Zone 2 (non-food contact) is any area which is adjacent to or could impact zone 1. Process equipment exterior and framework, refrigeration units, equipment control panels, switches.
- Zone 3 (non-food contact) is one step further removed from zone 2 and usually consists of the other areas in the production environment. Forklifts, hand trucks, carts, wheels, air return covers, hoses, walls, floors, drains.
- Zone 4 (non-food contact) outside of the processing areas that are pretty far removed from where you would have product touching. Think of locker rooms, cafeterias, entry/access ways, loading bays, finished product storage areas, offices.
What are the possible different surface characteristics in a facility?
- Material type such as stainless-steel surfaces, various polymers, porous, or nonporous.
- Surface area such as a uniform flat surface or irregular, where you must make adjustments to that surface and can’t have an exact surface area.
What are the various sampling devices that can be used for environmental monitoring?
- Different sampling devices include sponge type devices, swabs, or contact plates.
- Sponge type devices could be made of cellulose sponge material or a polyurethane foam sponge type of material. These might be on sticks or could look like a kitchen sponge. Sponges are preferred if qualitative pathogen testing is to be conducted, as they can be used to sample a larger area, therefore increasing the likelihood of detection. The area sampled should be greater than 100 square centimeters and preferably less than or equal to 1,000 square centimeters.
- Smaller swabs can be made of a lot of different materials from cotton to polyurethane foam to flacked nylon. Smaller swabs are useful for harder to reach places and are typically used for areas of 100 square centimeters or less.
- Contact plates may be useful in a more comprehensive environmental monitoring program.
How do I know which sampling device to use?
- There is no mandatory requirement to use either sponges only for pathogen testing or swabs only for indicator testing; the most important thing is that you select the right tool for the job and the site you are intending to sample.
What is the importance of using appropriate neutralizing agents?
- It could be the difference between getting a false negative result and getting an accurate result. If you don’t apply a neutralizer or correct neutralizer during environmental monitoring, you could get a false negative result because that sanitizer is still active in the microorganisms that you could have recovered may be inactivated during the process of collecting and sending to a lab for analysis. If you do use the appropriate neutralizer and it’s doing what it’s supposed to, you will have a more accurate result.
What factors do I need to consider for environmental sampling?
- Is the area you are sampling ina wet (or can be wet) or dry environment?
- Are you trying to get a precise area (cm2) or an entire site or item in the facility?
- Are you using only one device per area/item sample?
- Are you implementing aseptic technique to avoid inaccurate results?
- Are you leveraging multidirectional sampling to ensure that the entire sampling area has been sampled and the sampling device is given sufficient opportunity to pick up any microorganisms present?
What are key factors impacting microbial recovery?
- These factors include surface type and overall condition, microorganism targets, sampling device design and material, sanitizer neutralization, and post-sampling sample storage conditions.
References
Environmental Monitoring Handbook for the Food and Beverage Industries. 1st. Ed. 3M and Cornell University. 2019.
"Swabbing the surface: Critical factors in environmental monitoring and a path towards standardization and improvement." Sarah L. Jones, Steven C. Ricke, D. Keith Roper, and Kristen E. Gibson. 2020.
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Category: Food Safety, Dietary Supplements, Food & Beverage, Environmental Monitoring