Quality Assurance: Creating Safe Manufacturing Environments

Technological advancements in microbiology environmental monitoring procedures have made them a popular choice in food and beverage, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The traditional methods had limited detection abilities compared to the new technologies.

The old microbiology instruments have been replaced with modern ones and this has led to an increase in adoption of these technologies across various industries. In pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food manufacturing facilities, the environment needs to be constantly monitored to ensure that the production is not contaminated due to materials used or any other reason. 

Environmental monitoring is done using a variety of methods, including detection of surface residues, ATP monitoring and visual inspection. All manufacturing facilities in the food and pharmaceutical industry need to use microbiology quality assurance methods so that the environment is efficiently monitored at regular intervals. 

Implementing a Microbiology Environmental Monitoring Program

A good microbiology environmental monitoring program can act as a warning system for microbiological hazards at the manufacturing facility (pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries). Before the implementation program starts, it is best to consult experts who are familiar with the various methods of operation at these manufacturing units so that they may be able to identify the areas of risk and concerns. 

The program needs to be carefully designed after evaluating the processes at the pharmaceutical, cosmetic or food manufacturing facility. This may require different programs that are specific to the type of operations that are performed within these manufacturing units. The program needs to have a baseline and target so that the overall conditions during manufacturing process are assessed in an effective manner. Historical data of the previous months is also necessary to establish a baseline and target. 

It is important that the microbiology quality assurance team define what constitutes lowest and highest risk areas so that contamination can be controlled easily. The right testing tools and methods need to be used so that the program can be implemented properly. The sampling is done in both active and passive manner so that viable monitoring methods can be implemented.

The number of sampling methods that need to be used may vary from one industry to the other and there cannot be single standards for all industries. The frequency of sampling should be accelerated depending on the level of contamination. The data from the samples can be used to set up the initial alert and action levels so that the routine monitoring program can be set. 

It is critical for manufacturers at the food and pharmaceutical industries to develop an environmental testing program so that they may be able to monitor the overall hygiene at the different facilities. You may also be able to determine the source of contamination and this can help in taking preventive steps. These programs are less expensive and do not take a lot of time to implement.  

You may be able to take corrective action immediately when you make use of such programs to monitor the manufacturing process at pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries. The corrective action may include stopping production in the affected area and this can help sanitize the area easily. The process can be easily monitored when you use the environmental monitoring program. 

Contact Biolumix to learn more about simplified, rapid, automated microbiology testing.

Biolumix
3928 Varsity Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
Phone: (734) 984-3100
Fax: 734-222-1830
Email: info@mybiolumix.com
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