🦠 Salmonella in soil — evaluation of the sanitary condition of soil

Microbiology PN-Z-19000-1

Overview

WHAT THIS STANDARD DESCRIBES. The scope from the PKN catalogue card, in full: "Podano metodę wykrywania bakterii z rodzaju Salmonella w glebie. Polega ona na stwierdzeniu obecności jednostek tworzących kolonie bakterii z rodzaju Salmonella za pomocą hodowli na podłożach namnażających i różnicująco-selektywnych oraz potwierdzeniu wyników identyfikacją biochemiczną lub/i serologiczną. Metoda ta może być stosowana do badania wszystkich rodzajów gleby" [A method is given for the detection of bacteria of the genus Salmonella in soil. It consists in establishing the presence of colony-forming units of bacteria of the genus Salmonella by culture on enrichment and differential-selective media and in confirming the results by biochemical and/or serological identification. This method may be used for testing all types of soil]. The standard was published on 2 February 2001, has 7 pages and is maintained by KT 190 Soil Biology, ICS 13.080.99. The card gives no withdrawal date (state of the card on 23.09.2026).

THE REGULATION ITSELF STIPULATES THAT THE STANDARD CONCERNS SOIL. The regulation of the Minister of Maritime Economy and Inland Navigation of 12 July 2019 (Journal of Laws 2019 item 1311) lists in Annex No. 12, under item 41 "Obecność bakterii chorobotwórczych z rodzaju Salmonella" [presence of pathogenic bacteria of the genus Salmonella], two standards: PN-EN ISO 6579 and PN-Z-19000-1 — and next to the second one it adds in brackets: "wskazana normą metodyka dotyczy badania stanu sanitarnego gleby; do ewentualnego badania ścieków wymaga adaptacji" [the methodology indicated by the standard concerns testing the sanitary condition of soil; for any testing of wastewater it requires adaptation]. In the column of methods the same item describes the determination in four stages: pre-enrichment in a non-selective liquid medium; selective enrichment in a liquid medium at 42 °C; isolation of characteristic colonies on a selective agar medium and selection of strains on an indicator medium by the butt-and-slant inoculation method; and finally confirmatory biochemical tests on liquid media and identification with kits for the rapid biochemical identification of bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The act adds that the determination takes a relatively long time, but many stages are necessary to isolate and identify the bacteria. This description stands in the act, not on the card of the standard; we have not checked whether it corresponds to the details of PN-Z-19000-1.

WHAT THE MEASUREMENT SHOWS. Copy of the accreditation scopes, reading of 23.09.2026. The standard PN-Z-19000-1 is cited by one laboratory — AB 400 — in one entry: object of testing "Gleba E" [soil], test name "Obecność Salmonella spp." [presence of Salmonella spp.]. The whole PN-Z-19000 family (parts 1 and 4) is cited by two laboratories in three entries, all for soil: AB 400 for Salmonella and for eggs of intestinal parasites, AB 583 for live eggs of intestinal parasites, object "Gleba (piasek)" [soil (sand)]. Not a single laboratory cites this standard for wastewater. For comparison, PN-EN ISO 6579-1 — according to the card the successor of PN-EN ISO 6579:2003, i.e. of the standard listed in the same item of the regulation — is cited by 108 laboratories in 278 entries (notation of the number 6579-1, also with a space at the part hyphen, e.g. "PN-EN ISO 6579 -1:2017- 04"); together with the old notations of the number 6579 without a part — 119 laboratories and 310 entries. Notations of ISO/TR 6579-3, another document of this family, are not included in these numbers.

WHAT LABORATORIES USE TO TEST FOR SALMONELLA IN SLUDGES AND WASTEWATER. There are 30 entries, at 18 laboratories, in which the test name or a parameter concerns Salmonella and the object of testing is sludge or wastewater. PN-EN ISO 6579-1 stands next to 12 of them (9 laboratories), including 11 with the amendment A1:2020-09 written in six ways: "/A1:2020-09", "+A1:2020-09", " +A1:2020-09" with a space before the plus, "+ A1:2020-09" with a space after the plus, "/A1:2020- 09" with a space in the date, and " +A1:2020-09 z wyłączeniem punktów 9.5.4; 9.5.6" [z wyłączeniem punktów = excluding clauses]. PN-EN ISO 19250:2013-07 stands next to 2 entries (2 laboratories). For the remaining 16 entries laboratories cite only their own procedures. The soil standard stands next to none of them.

WHAT THESE TWO STANDARDS ARE. The card of PN-EN ISO 6579-1:2017-04 gives the title "Mikrobiologia łańcucha żywnościowego — Horyzontalna metoda wykrywania, oznaczania liczby i serotypowania Salmonella — Część 1: Wykrywanie Salmonella spp" [Microbiology of the food chain — Horizontal method for the detection, enumeration and serotyping of Salmonella — Part 1: Detection of Salmonella spp.] and the scope: products intended for human consumption and animal feeding, environmental samples from the area of food production and handling, samples from the primary production stage. The same card lists in the "Replaces" field PN-EN ISO 6579:2003 together with the amendment A1:2007 and the corrigendum AC:2014-11 — the 2019 regulation cites "PN-EN ISO 6579" without a part number. The card of PN-EN ISO 19250:2013-07 gives the title "Jakość wody — Wykrywanie Salmonella spp." [Water quality — Detection of Salmonella spp.] and the scope: water samples. Neither of these two cards explicitly mentions wastewater or sludges.

WHY THIS ENTRY DESCRIBES THE STANDARD OF ONE LABORATORY. Entries on this site usually describe standards cited by many laboratories. This one is here because the regulation lists it for Salmonella and at the same time stipulates that it concerns another matrix — and the measurement shows that laboratories use it only for soil.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard — PKN makes it available for a fee (7 pages). The card speaks of culture on enrichment and differential-selective media and of biochemical and/or serological confirmation; the description of the four stages comes from the regulation. We do not give the names of the media, the incubation temperatures and times or the sample mass according to this standard.

Method principle

According to the card of the standard: the presence of bacteria of the genus Salmonella in soil is established by culture on enrichment and differential-selective media, and the result is confirmed by biochemical and/or serological identification; the method can be used for all types of soil. The regulation (Annex No. 12, item 41) describes the determination of Salmonella in four stages: 1) pre-enrichment in a non-selective liquid medium; 2) selective enrichment in a liquid medium at 42 °C; 3) isolation of characteristic colonies on a selective agar medium and selection of strains on an indicator medium (butt-and-slant inoculation method); 4) confirmatory biochemical tests on liquid media and identification with kits for the rapid biochemical identification of bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. This description is in the act, not on the card of the standard. WE DO NOT GIVE the names of the media, the temperatures and the times according to PN-Z-19000-1 — we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Evaluation of the sanitary condition of soil — all types of soil (card)
• Wastewater — only after adaptation of the methodology, as the regulation itself stipulates (Annex No. 12, item 41)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-Z-19000-1:2001

Title (PL)

Jakość gleby — Ocena stanu sanitarnego gleby — Wykrywanie bakterii z rodzaju Salmonella

Title (EN)

Soil quality — Evaluation of soil sanitary condition — Detection of Salmonella bacteria

Step-by-step procedure

1. Pre-enrichment

   In a non-selective liquid medium (regulation, stage 1).

2. Selective enrichment

   In a liquid medium at 42 °C (regulation, stage 2).

3. Isolation and selection

   Characteristic colonies on a selective agar medium; selection of strains on an indicator medium by the butt-and-slant inoculation method (regulation, stage 3).

4. Confirmation

   Biochemical tests on liquid media and identification with kits for the rapid biochemical identification of Enterobacteriaceae (regulation, stage 4); the card of the standard provides for biochemical and/or serological identification.

5. What we do not give

   Stages 1–4 are described by the regulation. We do not give the sample mass, the incubation times, temperatures other than 42 °C or the names of the media according to PN-Z-19000-1 — we did not have the text of the standard.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• The regulation calls bacteria of the genus Salmonella pathogenic (Annex No. 12, item 41). According to Annex III to Directive 2000/54/EC (consolidated text of 24.06.2020), Salmonella Typhi is a group 3 biological agent, and Salmonella Paratyphi A, B, C, Enteritidis, Typhimurium and the other serotypes are group 2
• Protective measures are selected according to the group of the biological agent and the regulations on biological agents in the working environment — this entry does not quote them

Frequently asked questions