Fig. 1.

Schematic representation of the modular approach in food microbiology. The analytical process is subdivided into five steps, which are considered independent modules (here designated modules A, B, C, D, and E). In the modular approach, any method applied in a particular module should meet a minimal performance level for a number of critical method performance parameters. For each module, specific parameters can be defined/identified, allowing independent assessment of method performance for each of the different modules.