Innovative sampling for product clearance.

The International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) provides science-based guidance on the microbiological criteria for the assessment and control of food safety and quality. This work has lead to the development of risk-based sampling plans and microbiological limits for various target micro-organisms and categories of foods that form the basis for the standards and guidelines currently used in Australia for the acceptance and rejection of production batches (lots) of dairy products. The work of the ICMSF includes provision of a statistical basis for the application and interpretation of performance of sampling plans, including assessment of risk of acceptance of defective or rejection of acceptable lots of foods and, more recently, the principles of applying microbiological criteria to achieve specific food safety objectives and using microbiological performance criteria to compare different control measures for food safety. These innovative developments in sampling for product clearance not only provide a scientific tool for managing dairy food safety and quality, but provide a basis for the development and validation of new and novel approaches to pasteurisation in the future.