ADENOSINE-TRIPHOSPHATE BIOLUMINESCENCE FOR HYGIENE MONITORING IN HEALTH-CARE INSTITUTIONS

An investigation was conducted to assess the practical use of an adeno sine triphosphate (ATP) bioluminescence assay to evaluate the effectiv eness of cleaning and sanitizing meat slicers in eight health care ins titutions. The ATP bioluminescence assay was compared.to conventional swabbing techniques using standard plate count to enumerate microbial load. Assays were performed on meat slicers before use, after slicing a meat product and after sanitizing. There was a general overall agree ment in results obtained by both methods but the ATP assay gave a bett er indication of the cleanliness of the meat slicer as it was able to detect the presence of meat residues left on the blade after improper sanitation. Results were available within 5 min using the ATP biolumin escence method, thus providing an opportunity for immediate remedial a ction.