Assessing the Performance of a Real-Time Total Adenylate (ATP+ADP+AMP) Detection Assay for Surface Hygiene Monitoring in Food Manufacturing Plants and Commercial Kitchens

• Published in: Journal of food protection 2021-06, Vol.84 (6), p.973-983
• Main Authors: Ching, Chai Lay, Kamaruddin, Arif, Rajangan, Chandraprasad S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adenosine diphosphate; Adenosine Diphosphate - analysis; Adenosine Monophosphate - analysis; Adenosine Triphosphate - analysis; Aerobic bacteria; AMP; AMP+ADP+ATP; Assaying; ATP; Cleaning verification; Colony Count, Microbial; Environmental hygiene; Factories; Food contamination & poisoning; Food Handling; Food hygiene monitoring; Food Microbiology; Food plants; Food processing; Food production; Food safety; Hygiene; Ingredients; Inspection; Kitchens; Laboratories; Malaysia; Manufacturing; Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities; Manufacturing industry; Meat; Microorganisms; Monitoring; Pathogens; Performance assessment; Performance evaluation; Plants, Edible; Real time; Reliability analysis; Reproducibility of Results; Safety programs; Salmonella; Sanitation; Sensitivity
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/JFP-20-294

Environmental hygiene monitoring in the food processing environment has become important in current food safety programs to ensure safe food production. However, conventional monitoring of surface hygiene based on visual inspection and microbial counts is slow, tedious, and thus unable to support the current risk-based management system. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the performance of a real-time total adenylate assay that detected ATP+ADP+AMP (A3) for food contact surface hygiene in 13 food processing plants and two commercial kitchens in Malaysia. The A3 value was compared with the microbial count (aerobic plate count [APC]) on food contact surfaces. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to assess the reliability of the data and to determine the optimal threshold value for hygiene indication of food contact surfaces. Overall, the A3 value demonstrated a weak positive relationship with APC. However, the A3 value significantly correlated with APC for food processing environments associated with raw meat and raw food ingredients such as fruit that harbor a high microbial load. ROC analysis suggested an optimal threshold for the A3 value of 500 relative light units to balance the sensitivity and specificity at 0.728 and 0.719, respectively. The A3 assay as a hygiene indicator for food contact surfaces had an efficiency of 72.1%, indicating its reliability as a general hygiene indicator. •AMP+ADP+ATP (A3) assay could be a hygiene indicator in food processing environments.•A3 assay demonstrated 0.728 sensitivity, 0.719 specificity, and 72.1% efficiency.•A3 correlated with APC on factory surfaces associated with raw meat and ingredients.