New standard for counting yeasts and moulds

Several international standards exist for the counting of yeasts and moulds in food and feed. Laboratories have to obtain the necessary information from several sources. Therefore, it has been decided to revise these standards and develop one international standard. A first proposal is now ready. NEN can give input on this proposal on behalf of Dutch stakeholders. Interested parties can submit their input to NEN until 21 April 2022.

Merging of different standards

There are currently various international standards in which the analysis of food and feed for the presence of yeasts and moulds is explained, namely:

• NEN-ISO 21527-1:2008 'Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of yeasts and moulds - Part 1: Colony-count technique in products with water activity greater than 0.95'.
• NEN-ISO 21527-2:2008 'Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - Horizontal method for the enumeration of yeasts and moulds - Part 2: Colony-count technique in products with water activity less than or equal to 0,95
• NEN-ISO 6611:2004 'Milk and milk products - Enumeration of colony-forming units of yeast and/or moulds - Colony-count technique at 25 °C'.

It is proposed to revise the contents of these standards and merge them into ISO 21527 'Microbiology of the food chain - Horizontal method for the enumeration of yeasts and moulds'. This standard will apply to several links in the food chain including the primary production stage and samples of the food production environment (including surfaces and air).

Access to the proposal

Interested parties can obtain the proposal to develop ISO 21527 for the counting of yeasts and moulds at [email protected]. They can provide feedback on the proposal until 21 April 2022.

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