INTRODUCTION TO THE ICMSF SAMPLING PLAN TOOL

Document Location: Process Control, QC In-line, On-Line and Off-Line Process Control

Alternate Name: Presentation by Leon G.M. Gorris, PhD  

Date Document Last Updated: 2020

Publisher: Leon G.M. Gorris, PhD

Date Uploaded to Website: June 8, 2024

Overview

This document is a presentation on the use of the International Commission on Microbiological Sampling for Foods (ICMSF) sampling tool. Microbiological Criteria are statistically-based metrics that are often considered complex, challenging to understand and difficult to use. The tool was developed to help with this.

The document covers the purpose of sampling and testing, a description of what the ICMSF Sampling plan tool is, details of where you can find & download it, key design features of the tool, and it also provides a nice sampling plan dashboard example.

The tool is a Windows Excel Spreadsheet posted on ICMSF.org. The tool covers 2- and 3-class sampling plans that are either qualitative or quantitative. There are two different tools available- a standard format- which calculates the probabilities of various materials with different microbial loads, and a control measures validation tool (FSO) which is an additional tool which covers the Food Safety Objective (FSO) equation of ICMSF. The tools can be downloaded and help and guidance is available.

Overall, using this guide helps reduce the risk of pathogens in the food supply, as it helps organizations implement effective sampling plans.

Link to Document

Introduction of the ICMSF Sampling Plan Tool