Swann-Morton (Microbiological Laboratory Services) Ltd.

Microbiology

UKAS Accredited Testing Laboratory

Swann-Morton (Microbiological Laboratory Services) Ltd are a UKAS accredited testing laboratory. A number of our test methods are accredited to ISO / IEC 17025:2017. Please see the schedule here

Our ISO / IEC 17025:2017 certificate can be viewed here

The laboratory is certified to ISO 13485. View our certificate here

For existing customers, please download our Test Request Form

A range of microbiological services can be carried out, both in the laboratory and on-site. We can also offer advice and consultancy for any microbiology or hygiene issues. Our clients include medical device manufacturers and re-processing service providers including hospital Sterile Services Units.

Testing that can be carried out include the following:

Environmental microbiological testing

A variety of tests can be carried out in accordance with ISO 14698 and ISO 14644 to assess the cleanliness and effectiveness of your clean areas. Testing can be carried out by a microbiologist or technician from Swann Morton at your site, or we can send you the necessary plates, bottles etc for you to remotely carry out the testing yourself. Please contact us to find out if on-site testing is available in your area.

Interpretation of Results / Reports

Following incubation, the number of colony forming units (cfu) is calculated for each agar plate. By examining the morphology of the colonies, the organisms can be categorised into broad groups.

Typically for bacteria, these groups are, "Staphylococcus / Micrococcus", "Bacillus" or "Other".

For fungal contamination, colonies are classified as "Mould" or "Yeast".

Further identification can be carried out using Gram stain and biochemical techniques at the customer's request. Identification work

A detailed report is created for each test, giving information about the type of testing, the numbers and types of colonies found and details of types and batch numbers of the media used. You will be supplied with these reports in the post.

In the event of an adverse result, we will contact you to advise you of this as soon as possible.   

 

Warning / Action Limits

For microbiological testing, there are few guidelines describing exactly how much contamination actually constitutes an adverse result.

Initially, when analysing your results we will use our extensive experience to identify any bad results and advise you on courses of action to take.

Over time, as we build up historical data for your facility, it will become possible to use this information to establish warning and action limits for each test. For example, for contact plates a warning limit of 10 cfu and an action limit of 20 cfu per position could be set.   

 

Contact Details

Swann-Morton (Microbiological Laboratory Services) Limited  
Owlerton Green  
Hillsborough  
Sheffield  
S6 2BJ  
Tel: +44 (0)114 249 5911  
e-mail: microlab@swann-morton.com