SIST EN ISO 6888-1:2021 PDF

Overview

EN ISO 6888-1:2021 (CEN / ISO 6888-1:2021) - Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase‑positive staphylococci - Part 1: Method using Baird‑Parker agar medium - is a standardized, horizontal laboratory method for counting coagulase‑positive staphylococci (notably Staphylococcus aureus) in the food chain. The method is based on colony enumeration on Baird‑Parker agar (BPA) after aerobic incubation at 34 °C to 38 °C and requires coagulase confirmation of suspect colonies. This CEN-endorsed ISO standard applies to products for human consumption, animal feed, environmental samples in food/feed production areas and samples from primary production.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Principle: Selective plating onto Baird‑Parker agar followed by colony counting and coagulase confirmation.
• Incubation: Aerobic incubation at 34–38 °C; standard incubation time updated to 24 h ± 2 h where appropriate.
• Media & reagents: Baird‑Parker agar as primary medium; culture media preparation aligned with ISO 7218 and ISO 11133 requirements (e.g., pour molten agar at 44–47 °C).
• Enumeration & confirmation: Guidance for counting typical and atypical colonies on BPA and confirmation methods including the traditional tube coagulase test and the rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar (RPFA) as an alternative.
• Scope limitations: Not considered fully suited for fermented products or products containing technological staphylococcal flora (e.g., S. xylosus), where atypical colonies or background flora may interfere.
• Quality and performance: Includes requirements for sampling, sample preparation, expression of results, interlaboratory performance data, repeatability and reproducibility considerations, and elements of quality assurance and reporting.

Practical applications

• Routine microbiological testing in food safety and quality control laboratories.
• Monitoring of raw materials, finished food products, animal feed, and environmental swabs in food/feed production facilities.
• Regulatory compliance testing and verification of hygiene controls where enumeration of coagulase‑positive staphylococci is required.
• Troubleshooting contamination events and process verification during primary production through to processing and distribution.

Who should use this standard

• Food microbiologists and laboratory managers
• Quality assurance / QC teams in food and feed industries
• Regulatory and inspection laboratories
• Contract testing and environmental monitoring providers

Related standards

• ISO 6888‑2 and ISO 6888‑3 (other parts of the series) - equivalent status and complementary methods.
• ISO 7218 (general requirements for microbiological examinations)
• ISO 11133 (preparation, production and quality control of culture media)

This standard is essential for consistent, reproducible enumeration of coagulase‑positive staphylococci using Baird‑Parker agar and supports food safety monitoring across the food chain.