ABSTRACT
Monitoring of the environment inside a manufacturing facility is an important tool that is used to help determine if there are pathogens such as coliforms, Listeria, and Salmonella that might contaminate the products being produced. It is designed to provide a microbiological assessment of a plant’s environmental control program. It is not in itself a control program, but rather a tool to provide information to improve environmental controls. Information collected should be used to correct problem areas before they pose a risk to products. Raw areas are not included in a monitoring program because they are considered positive at all times.
