Microorganisms can be transferred from nonproduct contact surfaces during production and between cleaning and sanitation cycles.
Failure to clean and disinfect all sites that harbor microbial growth will increase the risks of contamination of finished product.
Verification that sites are microbiologically, acceptable is best accomplished by sampling and testing.
Sensory evaluation is useful to detect environmental conditions that may lead to microbial growth and survival,but visually clean sites will still harbor microorganisms.
Therefore verification of cleanliness and microbiological acceptability requires sampling and testing.
Sampling and testing merely provide a rough estimate of the quantity of food debris and microbial populations on equipment, but accumulation of data from repeated tests will permit development of criteria by which to judge the hygienic condition of specific pieces of equipment.