The Relevance of the Distribution of Micro‐organisms Within Batches of Food to the Control of Microbiological Hazards from Foods

Abstract

The distribution of micro‐organisms within batches of food is identified as log‐normal and this distribution has practical implications in the control of microbial hazards in foods. These implications are explained as effects upon counting procedures, changes in levels through processes, detection of low levels of micro‐organisms, the use of indicator groups, presence/absence tests, consumer safety calculations, and sample unit size analysed.