Water and surface sampling
We take drinking-water and surface samples at your premises to check that the water you use meets requirements and that cleaning and disinfection are working. The samples are analysed by LABRIS, an accredited laboratory.
Request a quoteWhy and when you need samples
Water used in food handling must meet drinking-water requirements, and under the PTA's guideline the food business must take samples to show that it is supplied with compliant water. A business on the public supply may limit itself to the microbiological indicators whose presence points to contamination; a business with its own borehole or dug well is treated as a drinking-water supplier and must agree its water control plan with the Health Board.
Our samples are taken by a certified drinking-water sampler. A food business with its own well must, under the guideline, call a certified sampler; for those on the public supply it is recommended, because the sampler has the right equipment and takes the sample so that contamination from the tap or the container does not distort the result.
Surface samples, swabs from work surfaces and equipment, show whether cleaning and disinfection actually work. Under the catering guideline, a business preparing ready-to-eat dishes, including salads and soups, must at least take swabs from work surfaces and equipment for Listeria monocytogenes. The samples are analysed by LABRIS, an accredited laboratory, and we explain the results with recommendations.
You need samples when
- your self-monitoring plan provides for drinking-water samples and the next one is due: for public-supply water the guideline recommends at least one sample a year at consumption of up to 100 m³ a day
- the business uses water from its own borehole or dug well and the samples must be taken by a certified sampler
- you prepare ready-to-eat dishes and the plan provides for swabs for Listeria monocytogenes
- changes in water quality have been noticed and the guideline recommends widening the range of indicators analysed
- you want to check that a new cleaning and disinfection routine or a new piece of equipment is hygienically sound
What the service includes
- Drinking-water samples taken by a certified (atesteeritud) drinking-water sampler, Merily Viks
- Surface swabs from work surfaces and equipment
- Analysed by LABRIS (the Estonian State Laboratory of Analyses and Risk Assessment), an accredited laboratory
- Results explained, with recommendations
How it works
We agree the samples
We look at the sampling plan in your self-monitoring plan: which samples, from which points, for which indicators.
Sampling on site
The certified sampler takes the samples with sterile equipment and labels them; surface samples are taken from work surfaces and equipment.
Laboratory analysis
The samples go to LABRIS, an accredited laboratory, where they are analysed for the agreed indicators.
Results and recommendations
You receive the test report and an explanation: whether the results meet the limits and what to do if they do not. The report stays with the plan as evidence.
Questions about sampling
It depends on the source and the volume. Under the PTA's water guideline, a food business on the public supply may periodically analyse the microbiological indicators, at a recommended frequency of at least once a year at consumption of up to 100 m³ a day and more often at higher consumption. Water from your own borehole or dug well must be analysed under the Minister of Social Affairs' Regulation No 61 for both routine and audit-monitoring indicators, with the control plan agreed with the Health Board.
For public-supply water, the microbiological indicators listed in the guideline: Escherichia coli, coliform bacteria and the colony count at 22 °C. If changes in water quality have been noticed, the guideline recommends widening the range; for your own well, Regulation No 61 sets the indicators.
A surface sample, or swab, is taken from a work surface or piece of equipment and shows whether cleaning and disinfection are effective. Under the catering guideline, a business preparing ready-to-eat dishes must at least take swabs from work surfaces and equipment for Listeria monocytogenes; the frequency, points and indicators are written into the plan's laboratory analysis schedule.
Drinking-water samples are taken by Merily Viks, a certified (atesteeritud) drinking-water sampler. The analyses are done by LABRIS (the Estonian State Laboratory of Analyses and Risk Assessment), an accredited laboratory. You receive the test report, and it stays with the self-monitoring plan.
Request a sampling offer
Tell us what water you use and which samples your plan provides for. We will agree the number of samples and a date.
Request a quote