Introduction

This methodology has been developed to detect and enumerate Enterococcaceae in organic, organo-mineral and inorganic fertilizers in order to be able to control certain hygienic requirements in Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 [1].

Enterococcaceae in the sense of this document include several species of the genus Enterococcus (3.7, 3.8) with a faecal origin. Consequently, it can be used as an indicator of faecal contamination. It can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of pasteurization or disinfection treatments. Compared to E.coli, they have a higher tenacity and can therefore better reflect the behaviour of all pathogens in fertilizers.

Because of the large variety of fertilizers, this method is not appropriate in every detail for certain products. In this case, different methods which are specific to these products can be used if absolutely necessary for justified technical reasons. Nevertheless, every attempt should be made to apply this method as far as possible.

Mineral components in fertilizers can have a negative impact on the survivability of microorganisms when they go into solution. In addition to an unfavourable shift in the pH value, the products can have a strong osmotic effect or be toxic to cells themselves (e.g. copper). Therefore, it can be necessary to test the inhibitory effect of the fertilizers to be investigated in a pre-test.

The method is validated in an interlaboratory study for the following products (Enterococcaceae were investigated in both native and spiked test material):

Table 1 — Product groups and matrices for which the methods described in this method are applicable and tested in a validation trial

Product group	matrix
Organic fertilizers	to be determined at an international ring trial
Organo-mineral fertilizers	to be determined at an international ring trial
Inorganic fertilizers	to be determined at an international ring trial

International ring trials will be conducted on the basis of this document.

PD CEN/TS 17804:2022

Organic, organo-mineral and inorganic fertilizers. Detection of Enterocococaceae

Current, Under Review

Published:

31 Jul 2022