Question

According to the process hygiene criteria prescribed by FSSAI for pasteurised milk, which of the following is applicable for coliforms?

• A. n = 3 ; c = 5
• B. n = 5 ; c = 3
• C. n = 5 ; c = 0
• D. n = 3 ; c = 0

Hint:

A simple way to interpret sampling plans:
- ‘c‘ cannot be larger than ‘n‘ (this rules out Option A).
- ‘c = 0‘ means zero tolerance for contamination across all tested samples, which is standard for safety and process control.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) establishes microbiological standards for food products.
These standards use a sampling plan defined by several variables:
- ‘n‘: The number of sample units to be tested from a batch.
- ‘c‘: The maximum allowable number of sample units that can have bacterial counts between the acceptable limit (‘m‘) and the maximum limit (‘M‘).
- ‘m‘: The acceptable threshold value for the bacterial count.
- ‘M‘: The maximum limit, above which the batch is rejected.
Detailed Explanation:
Process hygiene criteria assess the cleanliness and operational efficiency of the pasteurization process.
Coliforms are indicators of post-pasteurization contamination.
According to FSSAI regulations for pasteurized milk:
A strict sampling plan is used to ensure the complete absence of coliforms, or that counts remain below detectable limits, to verify pasteurization efficiency.
For coliforms in pasteurized milk, the sampling plan is defined as n = 5 and c = 0.
This is a 2-class attribute plan:
- Five independent samples ($n = 5$) are collected from the batch.
- Zero samples ($c = 0$) are allowed to exceed the limit (‘m‘).
If even a single sample out of the five exceeds the limit, the entire batch fails the process hygiene criteria.
This zero-tolerance policy ensures high sanitation standards in dairy plants.

Step 2: Final Answer:
The applicable sampling criteria are n = 5 and c = 0.