Validation of the Hygicult E dipslides method in surface hygiene control: a Nordic collaborative study

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Food Safety
• Surface Hygiene Monitoring

Background:

• Accurate microbial detection on surfaces is crucial for food safety and hygiene control.
• Enterobacteriaceae are key indicators of fecal contamination and hygiene failures.
• Validation of rapid detection methods is essential for reliable surface monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the performance of Hygicult E dipslides for detecting Enterobacteriaceae.
• To compare Hygicult E dipslides with established methods: violet red bile glucose agar (VRBGA) contact plates and swabbing.
• To assess method efficacy on artificially contaminated stainless steel surfaces across various microbial levels.

Main Methods:

• A collaborative study involving twelve laboratories.
• Artificial contamination of stainless steel surfaces with Enterobacteriaceae at low, middle, and high levels.
• Comparison of Hygicult E dipslides, VRBGA contact plates, and swabbing for microbial enumeration.

Main Results:

• Hygicult E dipslides demonstrated comparable performance to VRBGA contact plates and swabbing across all tested microbial levels.
• The percentage of acceptable results, after outlier removal, was high at 97.2%.
• Quantitative results showed similar colony-forming units per square centimeter (CFU/cm2) across the three methods.

Conclusions:

• Hygicult E dipslides are a reliable and valid method for detecting Enterobacteriaceae on stainless steel surfaces.
• The dipslide method offers a viable alternative to traditional contact plate and swabbing techniques.
• This validation supports the use of Hygicult E for routine surface hygiene monitoring in relevant settings.