Fundamentals and standardization
CFU, accreditation, method validation and quality control: the basis of a reliable result.
7 articles
Articles in this pillar
9 min read
ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in food laboratories: what it assesses and how to read it
What ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation assesses, what the accredited scope is, why proficiency testing matters and what the EU and the FDA's LAAF program require.
8 min read
What are CFU (Colony-Forming Units) and how are they interpreted?
What a CFU is, how counts in CFU/g or CFU/cm² are calculated and how to interpret limits in a microbiological analysis.
6 min read
What is AOAC-PTM certification and why does it matter in food microbiology?
What AOAC-PTM certification is, how it is obtained and why it is a key backing for adopting a new microbiological detection method in the food industry.
9 min read
Validation and verification of microbiological methods: what the ISO 16140 series requires
The difference between validating and verifying a microbiological method, what each part of ISO 16140 covers and how ISO 16140-3 is applied with eLOD50 and eBias.
9 min read
Limit of detection, LOD50 and measurement uncertainty: what a microbiological result really tells you
What the LOD50 of a detection method means, why "not detected" is not zero and how the uncertainty of a count is estimated according to ISO 19036:2019.
9 min read
Quality control of culture media according to ISO 11133: productivity, selectivity and WDCM strains
What ISO 11133 requires to control culture media: productivity, selectivity, specificity, WDCM strains, acceptance criteria and the new edition.
11 min read
Proficiency testing and interlaboratory comparisons in food microbiology: what the standards require and how to read a z-score
What ISO/IEC 17025, ISO/IEC 17043, ISO 13528 and ISO 22117 require on proficiency testing, how to read a z-score and what to do with an unsatisfactory result.