Sterilisation control

Where service or maintenance work is performed (e.g., on manufacturing or test equipment, sterilisers, controlled air supply systems) the Contract Giver should assure himself that the Contract Acceptor has suffident equipment, staff, knowledge and experience to carry out the work correctly. 

The radioactive isotope Cs is important commercially in process control instmments and for sewage sludge sterilisation. The isotope has along half-life — 30 yi )i however, it must be weU-shielded because of the high biological hasard. 

Humidity can be a problem. Whereas it was shown (284) that 33% RH was best for spore inactivation, and that at least 30% RH was needed for effective sterilisation (285), dried spores are difficult to kill, and the spore substrate material and wrappings compete with the spore for the available moisture (286). Therefore, the relative humidity is adjusted to 50—70% to provide sufficient moisture for the spores to equiUbrate. The exposure time depends upon the gas mixture, the concentration of ethylene oxide, the load to be sterilised, the level of contamination, and the spore reduction assurance requited. It may be anywhere from 4—24 hours. In a mn, cycles of pre-conditioning and humidification, gassing, exposure, evacuation, and air washing (Fig. 9) are automatically controlled. 

These variations are sometimes caused by changes in sterilising conditions, agitation and aeration, temperature, pH, pressure and liquid level. This is why the parameters have to be controlled in a proper way using predse equipment... 

Microbial over-growth was controlled with carbon dioxide passed through the bed. There was a maximum 30% increase in the beads diameter at the lower part of column, where the glucose concentration was maximum. The void volume was measured by passing sterilised water. In addition to the carbon source, the feeding media consisted of 1 g l 1 yeast extract pumped from the bottom of the reactor, while the flow rate was constant for a minimum duration of 24 hours. 

All feed streams are sterilised before being metered into the fermentation vessel. Contaminants resistant to the antibiotic rarely find their way into the fermenter. When they find a way to contaminate media, their effects are so catastrophic that prevention is of paramount importance. A resistant, (3-lactamase producing, fast-growing bacterial contaminant can destroy the penicillin.5 The contaminants not only consume nutrients intended for the fungus, but also cause loss of pH control and interference with the subsequent extraction process. 

The inoculate was prepared in 250 ml flasks containing 100 ml of growth medium, which is inoculated with 10 ml of spore suspension. The mixture was shaken at 250 rpm and the temperature was controlled at 26 °C for 48 h. Then, 110 ml of resulting mycelia suspension is used to inoculate a 1000 ml broth in the airlift fermenter. The sterilised media are slowly pumped into the bioreactor at a flow rate of about lOOmlh-1 until 2 1 working volume is fully utilised. Aeration rates of 0.5, 1 and 2vvm (1,2 and 4 1 air/min) are used.6,7 Samples were taken at 24 hour intervals and evaluated for biomass, sugars and antibiotic concentrations. 

Sequential control for vessel sterilisation and more complex control strategies... 

Gardner J.F. Peel M.M. (1991) Introduction to Sterilisation, Disinfection and Infection Control. Melbomne Churchill Livingstone. 

This gum was the first microbial gum to be used in the food industry. It is produced by the aerobic fermentation of Xanthomonas campestris. A specially selected culture is grown on a carbohydrate-containing nutrient medium with a nitrogen source and other essential elements. The pH, temperature and aeration are controlled carefully. The product is then sterilised and the gum is precipitated with propan-2-ol. Next, the precipitate is washed, then pressed to remove residual alcohol, followed by drying and grinding to the required size. 

Following the favourable response of this committee, steps were taken to amend the existing UK legislation which permitted only the radiation sterilisation of foods for people whose immune response was compromised. New regulations came into force in early 1991 which permitted the irradiation of seven groups of foods under strictly controlled conditions (Anon., 1990a) (Table 1). 

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