Hygiene in the Food Industry

What is an ATP test?

ATP tests are often performed as part of hygiene monitoring. They integrate into the HACCP concept and provide a quick as well as an objective measurement of cleaning effectiveness and hygiene status in production plants.

The ATP test uses a luminescence measuring device to determine the amount of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the surface or liquid sample. ATP is the universal energy carrier in all organic things and can therefore detect the presence of organic substances in a sample. Regular ATP tests will only detect this molecule.

Stressed bacteria, for example after inefficient cleaning or due to lack of nutrition, are characterized by a significantly reduced metabolism compared to bacteria in cell division.

In such a stressed state, only the lower-energy derivatives adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) are often detectable in bacteria, which are not detectable in regular ATP test methods, although living bacteria are present.

Due to its patented technology, HyServe’s Lumitester Smart is particularly suitable for hygiene testing within seconds, as it measures not only ATP but also these components of bacteria and food residues, ADP and AMP, and converts them into measurable bioluminescence by using a specific biological pathway. This allows the detection of inactive and stressed bacteria as well as other organic contaminants.

Using HyServe’s ATP Lumitester Smart, the amount of bioluminescence is measured in relative light units, RLU. The more relative light units present, the higher the level of contamination.

Sampling is performed using a swab sample. This allows the effectiveness of cleaning measures to be assessed before and during food and beverage production. HyServe’s Lumitester Smart provides results in a very short time, allowing appropriate action to be taken immediately.

A3 (ATP+ADP+AMP) hygiene monitoring from HyServe

HyServe offers Lumitester Smart and LuciPac A3 Surface and LuciPac A3 Water tests that determine ADP (adenosine diphosphate) and AMP (adenosine monophosphate) in addition to ATP. By measuring the additional parameters, higher sensitivity and reproducibility of the measurements are achieved.

The two tests, LuciPac A3 for surfaces and LuciPac A3 Water for liquids, determine the total content of ATP+ADP+AMP and represent a new patented concept in the field of food hygiene.

The ATP test is one of the most commonly used hygiene tests, but ATP can be unstable and decompose into ADP and AMP. For example, ATP in meat, shellfish, egg, and fruit may be degraded into AMP and ADP. This results in unreliable measurements by conventional ATP-only tests while A3 technology can detect impurities here as well.

The Lumitester Smart and the LuciPac A3 detect ATP + ADP + AMP and offer unmatched sensitivity. They ensure the perfect detection of residues and microorganisms and are characterized by maximum user convenience. Thanks to advanced analysis methods, they also find the residues that were previously overlooked.

Lumitester Smart and LuciPac A3 make it easy to set up hygiene monitoring in the food and beverage industry. This ultimately leads to higher quality products and a reduced risk of poisoning from spoiled food.

 

Lumitester Smart from HyServe – the benefits

The hardware is the Lumitester Smart, an easy-to-use, mobile, one-handed device with a carrying strap. It allows you to check the hygiene status anytime and anywhere, even in places where this was previously difficult, such as directly in food and beverage production, but also in supermarkets and restaurants.

Results are available within 10 seconds and data visualization takes place in a specialized app.

The benefits of Lumitester Smart are:

  • Patented A3 technology detects ATP + ADP + AMP
  • Higher sensitivity than other available products
  • Hygiene monitoring in 3 simple steps
  • Time-to-Result 10 seconds
  • Software tool for data analysis
  • Data visualization via APP
  • Results are automatically displayed graphically
  • Access from anywhere with cloud storage
  • Awarded the IF Design Award
  • Visualization of the entire test results through diagrams

 

Data evaluation via software

The Lumitester Smart can be connected to a smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and test results can be evaluated using a cloud-based software solution. The evaluations allow users to consolidate data across different points in time or users or production sites. Preconfigured and intuitive graphical evaluations and reports transform the data into meaningful information for decision-makers.

Hygiene management and food hygiene

The central task of food hygiene is to ensure safe consumption of food without any adverse health effects.

To minimize the risk of microbial contamination, it must be ensured that no microorganisms are transferred unnoticed from hands, surfaces, work utensils, or production areas to food.

Based on various regulations and the hygiene concept HACCP, companies in the food industry must create a safe framework and carry out regular controls. For this purpose, defined sampling points, test times, and suitable limit values must be specified.

The more closely sampling points are set, e.g. in the production process, the faster the cause can be identified in the event of contamination. ATP tests are often the method of choice here, as they can be carried out in a matter of seconds.

These tasks are part of holistic hygiene management and are regulated by the HACCP concept and the Food Hygiene Ordinance.

About the manufacturer Kikkoman Biochemifa

Kikkoman is in origin a leading global manufacturer of soy sauces and has evolved from humble beginnings in the 17th century to become a technology leader in food research, process engineering, and enzymology.

As a subsidiary, Kikkoman Biochemifa develops and markets innovative enzymes and functional substances for the food and beverage industry as well as the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, and diagnostics industries.

The company used its extensive expertise in enzymes to develop the highly innovative luminescence technology of Lumitester Smart and LuciPac A3, which are available through HyServe.

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