Microbiological quality of reconstituted enteral formulations used in hospitals

Contamination of enteral feeds may occur during preparation, storage, decan ting, and administration to patients. The aim of this study was to investig ate the microbiological quality of reconstituted enteral feeds, residual fe eds from feed delivery systems, and the water used to reconstitute powdered feeds in hospital. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) system was implemented to control microbiological contamination of the enteral fee ding formulations. Before the implementation of the HACCP system microbiolo gical analyses of feeds showed the presence of indicator organisms such as coliforms and Enterococcus spp. and unacceptably high levels of mesophilic aerobic microorganisms (>10(4) cfu/mL). After the implementation of the HAC CP, the microbial quality of the feeds improved significantly, with counts of < 10(1) cfu/mL. Blenders used in reconstituting feeds were found to be t he main source of bacterial contamination. (C) Elsevier Science Inc. 2000.