Bag, Sampling, Speci-Sponge®, Whirl Pak®

The Whirl-Pak® Speci-Sponge® bag is designed for environmental surface sampling of work areas, equipment, animal carcasses and any other place where testing for Listeria, Salmonella, E.coli and other foodborne pathogens is required.

The special sponge is free of bactericides and has been tested to be non-inhibitory. It measures approximately 1½ x 3 x 5/8” thick when wet. It is sterilized inside a Write-On Whirl-pak® bag. It is recommended to wear sterile gloves when wiping with the sponge. This will help prevent contaminants from being introduced to the sponge. After the sample has been collected and the sponge returned to the bag, media may be added, and the sample incubated inside the bag for a +/- test, or directly pipetted and plated out.

Stated in the Compendium of Methods for the Microbiological Examination of Foods, 3rd edition, section 3.521 (Sponge Contact Method 53) “Sterile plastic bags are suitable to contain the sponges after sampling.” In section 40.52 – sample containers under Food Outbreak, “For food specimens, these would include sterile plastic bags…”Whirl-Pak® bags qualify for both of these procedures.