ATP

HOW IS CONTAMINATION MEASURED?

Environmental contamination is measured through the detection of Adenosine triphosphate – ATP for short. The amount of ATP present is a widely accepted gauge of microbial contamination, used by health departments and foodservice inspectors across North America.

ATP readings are so consistently relied upon because they offer quantifiable results that can be weighed from one facility to the next, one day to the next. The higher the reading, the higher the presence of organic residue – and that means a greater likelihood of contamination.

Understanding how to interpret ATP readings is just as important as the readings themselves.

Because all living things produce ATP, the number generated by Swisher's Luminalysis indicates the presence of both harmless and potentially harmful substances. Just how much of the reading represents actual microbial contamination will vary based on the facility being tested.

In general, however, a minimum of 20% to 30% of the reading is understood to represent potentially pathogenic contamination – and in most cases, the actual percentage is significantly higher. Under these guidelines, Luminalysis scores are commonly interpreted as follows: