The Animal By-product regulation contains microbiological specifications for the maximum level of bacteria allowed in the samples. The specifications all use the following key;
n = number of samples to be tested
m = threshold value for the number of bacteria; the result is considered satisfactory if the number of bacteria in all samples does not exceed m
M = maximum value for the number of bacteria; the result is considered unsatisfactory if the number of bacteria in one or more samples is M or more
c = number of samples the bacterial count of which may be between m and M, the sample still being considered acceptable if the bacterial count of the other samples is m or less.
Salmonella
Animal Feed:
Your sample will fail if any sub-sample contains any Salmonella colonies
Compost & Digestate:
Your sample will fail if any sub-sample contains any Salmonella colonies
The specification is listed as follows;
Salmonella n = 5; c = 0; m = 0; M = 0
Enterobacteriaceae
Animal Feed:
A sample of Raw Pet Food will fail if any of the sub-samples contains more than 5,000 Enterobacteriaceae colonies per gram. The sample will also fail if 3 or more sub-samples contain more than 10 Enterobacteriaceae colonies per gram
The specification is listed as follows;
Enterobacteriaceae: n = 5, c = 2, m = 10, M = 5000 in 1 g
A sample of any other ABP product (including processed pet food) will fail if any of the sub-samples contains more than 300 Enterobacteriaceae colonies per gram. The sample will also fail if 3 or more sub-samples contain more than 10 Enterobacteriaceae colonies per gram
The specification is listed as follows;
Enterobacteriaceae: n = 5, c = 2, m = 10, M = 300 in 1 g
Escherichia coli (E.coli)
Compost & Digestate:
Your sample will fail if any of the sub-samples contains more than 5,000 E.coli colonies per gram. The sample will also fail if 2 or more sub-samples contain more than 1,000 E.coli colonies per gram.
The specification is listed as follows;
Escherichia coli n = 5; c = 1; m = 1000; M = 5000 in 1g