The Importance of Hygiene and Food Safety
With the ramp up to the festive season and approaching temperature changes, it is important to verify the quality and safety of food produced. Testing for spoilage organisms and pathogens will prevent food poisoning outbreaks caused by food and food ingredients. This is essential to ensure the safety of consumers.
Microchem is here to assist you to with monitoring hygiene processes, raw materials and food products. Our laboratory testing will provide information on the quality of food or production processes to support quality control in your HACCP system. Testing is an important tool to identify and resolve problems before they have a negative effect on your business.
Food manufacturers and processors have a responsibility to ensure that food they produce is safe to consume. Part of a robust food safety management system is to manage food safety risks with adequate hygiene and product monitoring. A robust quality management system will support business survival and growth in the long term.
Benefits of Testing
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Confirm efficacy of cleaning procedures
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Identify contaminants in raw materials
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dentify contamination after production and before release
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Provide compliance with import and export regulations
Monitoring of Cleaning
Effective cleaning and disinfection of food premises and equipment is of utmost importance and should be carried out throughout the production process. Regular swabbing of food-contact and non-food contact surfaces can verify effectiveness of cleaning procedures in place.
Microchem’s Offer
Microchem has a team of Hygiene Inspectors that can assist with sampling at your facility to ensure that the key elements of food hygiene are adhered to. Our food microbiology team has both laboratory and production knowledge, enabling us to understand the pressures that are placed on food producers and manufacturers when it comes to food testing and food factory hygiene.
Microchem has a dedicated pathogen testing laboratory, with a team of vastly experienced microbiologists to perform pathogen testing and determination on a range of food products and ingredients. We use validated culture methods alongside some rapid methodology for pathogen determination.
We test for a wide range of indicator and pathogenic organisms including the following:
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Bacillus cereus
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Clostridium perfringens
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Coliforms
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E. coli
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Enterobacteriaceae
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Listeria monocytogenes
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Pathogenic E. coli 0157
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Salmonella species
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Shiga-toxin producing E. coli(STEC)
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Staphylococcus aureus
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Total Plate Counts
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Vibrio species
Our Festive Trading
Our staff functions are on the following dates:
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Friday 2nd December 2022(Gauteng)
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Friday 9th December 2022(Cape Town)
We will be closed on the following dates
Public Holidays:
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Friday 16th December 2022
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Sunday 25th December 2022
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Monday 26th December 2022
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Sunday 1st January 2023
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Monday 2nd January 2023
Note that our sample collection and delivery services will not be available on public holidays.
Please submit samples by 12h00 the day prior to closures to allow sufficient time for work to be completed.
There will be no collections or submission on the days the lab is closed or operating half-day. We can assist with emergency testing requirements, and request that prior arrangements be communicated to the laboratory for any testing requirements over the Festive Season.
Contact Us:
You are welcome to contact our Cape Town Sales Manager, Sunette Penderis, or Head of our Microbiology Services, Ilse Liedemann.
Please feel free to visit us at our new laboratory premises in Stikland to meet the team and discuss how Microchem can add value to your business.
Sales Cape Town Services
Sunette Penderis
Head of Microbiology
Ilse Liedemann
