Sterilization control is one of the most important issues in all microbiological studies. For example, if the total number of bacteria in foodstuffs is to be controlled, the media used, the various solutions and the materials used must be sterile. Otherwise, the microorganisms transmitted from any of these will increase the number of foods and will also lead to inaccurate results.

Sterilization can be performed in a variety of ways. Heat treatment, chemical sterilization and disinfection process, filtration method or radiation sterilization can be provided. Furthermore, the number of microorganisms can be significantly reduced by drying, freezing or ultrasonic methods, but no microbiological sterilization is achieved.

While these microorganisms are removed from the environment by filtration method, other methods destroy microorganisms with different systems or prevent their development. Microorganisms lose and measure their ability to grow and proliferate with the inactivation of enzymes and proteins they secrete and their metabolic activity. Nevertheless, research is continuing on how various methods achieve sterilization, ie, how and with which effect they kill microorganisms.

However, no matter which method is used for sterilization, it is essential to check whether the medium and the materials used are actually sterilized. This control actually means the control of the sterilization process. During these checks, care should be taken to avoid any contamination after sterilization. Control of sterilization is carried out using chemical or bacteriological indicators. For example, bacteriological indicators containing a certain number of viable spores, known to be resistant, provide significant advantages in spite of unobstructed errors in the sterilization test. With the introduction of these bacteriological indicators during sterilization, the problems resulting from accidental contamination, application of wrong cultural methods, and errors and deficiencies in preventing the activities of antimicrobial substances in the tested substance are largely eliminated.

 

Sterilization control studies are carried out in advanced laboratories within the framework of microbiological analyzes. These studies are based on standards published by national and international organizations.