ISO 6888‑2 is the second in the series of documents on the microbiology of the food chain. ISO 6888‑2 specifies a horizontal method for the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci by counting the colonies obtained on a solid medium (rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium) after aerobic incubation at 34 °C to 38 °C.
ISO 6888‑2 is applicable to:
ISO 6888‑2 on microbiology of food chain is useful for:
Staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP) is an intoxication caused by the ingestion, with food, of emetic staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) produced by enterotoxigenic strains of coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS): especially Staphylococcus aureus. The contamination of food with CPS is commonly caused by inadequate food processing methods or the use of mastitis milk. Thus, unpasteurized milk cheeses, contaminated by enterotoxigenic strains of staphylococci, may be involved in SPF outbreaks.
ISO 6888‑2 helps users by specifying a method to identify coagulase-positive staphylococci in food products, the identification of which can prevent severe health effects in humans and animals.
ISO 6888-2 specifies the necessary procedure, test methods, and performance characteristics to conduct the necessary aerobic incubation and inoculation processes.
The enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci using the rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar medium, that complies with ISO 6888-2, can help you assess and mitigate negative effects of the staphylococci on humans and animals. As a result, you can ensure the safety of end-consumers against health hazards arising from consumption of contaminated food. Moreover, meeting the defined quality control system can help you improve quality and shelf-life of end-product.
BS EN ISO 6888‑2:2021 supersedes ISO 6888‑2:1999. BS EN ISO 6888‑2:2021 includes some technical changes with respect to ISO 6888‑2:1999. These include:
ENISO 6888-2
ISO 6888-2