An extensive laboratory study of commercially available ATP hygiene monitoring systems was conducted by a leading independent laboratory.

The comprehensive study generated over 5,000 results and the investigation determined linearity, repeatability, and sensitivity of all systems by comparing:

• Five systems from leading suppliers including BioControl, Charm Sciences, Hygiena, Neogen and 3M
• Nine instrument and swab combinations including Snapshot, the universal ATP swab
• Six ATP concentrations from 0.1 to 1000.0 fmols ATP
• Four common foods representing different categories of foodstuffs
• Five microbial species representing Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, and yeasts
• Ten replicates samples at each test parameter were tested

Statistical analysis was applied to the results which can be summarised as follows:

• All systems were shown to give a good linear response to all contaminants, however there was a difference in the repeatability, accuracy and sensitivity between systems
• The most precise, accurate and repeatable system was the Hygiena SystemSURE Plus with either Ultrasnap or Supersnap swabs
• The universal swab (SnapShot) improved the repeatability and sensitivity of UniLite NG, MVP and Novalum luminometers

For further information contact Hygiena International.