AUTONOMOUS ON-SITE TESTING, ANALYZING RESULTS AND TRENDS ON-LINE, AUTONOMOUSLY  

Every manufacturing site is unique and full of life, and so is the microbial ecosystem growing there. 

How can you avoid feeling at risk when it comes to the wasted production and possible reputation damages that comes with not catching a contamination before it leads to industrial spoilage? 

It can be hard to know what is best when it comes to monitoring microbial contaminations and performing regular microbiological tests.

An effective sampling plan is necessary to define what is specifically required for any manufacturing facility and activity, whether for the implementation of a hygiene test or for the application of a swab test. 

The HACCP method has proven to be efficient at ensuring food safety. 

However, it was not primarily designed to address spoilage and consequently industries that manufacture products presenting no risk for consumers may not be familiar with the method. 

The HACCP method’s first principle consists in conducting a hazard analysis, then defining critical control points (CCP) and setting acceptable limits for them. For many potentially hazardous products, acceptable levels of indicator microorganisms and pathogen levels are suggested or imposed. 

A similar approach can be applied to prevent spoilage and to the production environment: spoilage risk assessment, identification of environmental control points, and setting acceptable limits.

The acceptable limits are set based on historical values, specific to each product, equipment and site and controlled by a hygiene plan that maintains the contaminants within the accepted limit.

It can be difficult to properly and thoroughly monitor for microbial contamination so that you are no longer threatened by spoiled production and potential damage if the spoilage is not detected in time. 

Setting up a microbial monitoring plan can be time consuming, and no one is immune to making a mistake. It is also necessary to be able to carry out regular environment testing, but burdening one person in the company with this task could cause them to fall behind in their other duties.

Limited access to laboratory facilities and microbiology expertise can lead to an incomplete data history and to a faulty sampling plan, putting your product and your reputation in jeopardy.

Relying on an external contract lab for microbial analysis makes perfect sense for the compulsory controls which are better conducted in a certified lab environment, but may not be the best option for auto-controls, environmental, hygiene testing because of the logistics, delays and costs involved. 

Mapping the environmental flora is an important part of an Environmental Monitoring Plan (EMP) which can highlight potential routes of cross-contamination. The observation of which microbial populations are present in each of the manufacturing plant zone provides insights into how microorganisms are transported from a zone to another hence indicate where preventive measures should be implemented. 

Documenting the presence of different populations over time requires both a technique such as total flora culture media which allows for labelling populations, and recording the results such that they can be analyzed globally.

Finally, since the underlying objective of Environmental Monitoring Plans (EMP) and hygiene testing is understanding your process and its vulnerability to contamination, DIY on-site testing helps develop an indispensable process understanding competency.

The ideal solution is to have a data history that you can consult at any time in order to track contamination levels on a production site. Easy access to trend analysis is also key, so you can compare the results from different tests and ensure that the levels of contamination fit your predefined alert levels. 

BioMire’s nomad solution sets technical hurdles aside, seamlessly documents what you do, records test results and helps you read the data in a practical way. The nomad solution allows you to be autonomous and efficient, so you can control production now, understand trends, and improve your good hygiene practices over time.

Thanks to nomad’s Smart Microbiology tool, you will be able to closely track the results of your microbiological on-site tests. If a test shows higher contamination levels than usual, you will know immediately where in your production site the anomaly comes from, so you can act quickly and decisively. You will be able to test your facilities and machines (even those in contact with food), as well as perform consumer product testing with improved and justified hygiene practices.

Safety is a multidisciplinary concern at the center of process, quality assurance and microbiology. 

Microbial Risk Management Systems (MRMS), the basis of our technology, provide expertise in a single integrated solution for spoilage and hazard management. This allows you to deal with the microbiology in your facilities in a simple and effective way. 

MRMS solutions serve several purposes such as: 

Most manufacturing companies are challenged with keeping their production systems running with minimum downtime, delivering quality assurance, increasing output and lowering operating cost.

Historical data for statistical analysis can be used to compare Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) from production data. Analyzing the microbial KPI trends can provide insights for technical, hygiene and maintenance management.

For technical managers, trend analysis of the microbial load as the product is transformed from from raw-materials to a finished products can provide valuable information to better understand the contribution of each unit-operation to the contamination levels: 

The nomad Smart Microbiology web App monitoring solution is designed for easy data management:

Opt for a customized EMP Data Starter Pack with all you need to start your 3-12-month sampling plan and microbiological monitoring: 

With the EMP consulting services you'll benefit from: