scope:

This document specifies a method for the detection and enumeration of Enterococcaceae in fertilizers of the following Product Function Categories (PFCs) of EU fertilizing products, as described in Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 [1]:

• PFC 1(A): Organic fertilizer;

• PFC 1(B): Organo-mineral fertilizer;

• PFC 1(C): Inorganic fertilizer, which contains more than 1 % by mass of organic carbon, other than organic carbon from chelating or complexing agents, nitrification inhibitors, denitrification inhibitors or urease inhibitors, coating agents, urea or calcium cyanamide. The present method was validated on products known as present on the market in April 2021 and conform to Regulation (EU) 2019/1009 [1] that are inorganic fertilizers with more than 1 % of organic carbon such as poultry manure and struvite with low level of organic matter. In case that other products would be developed having other physical and chemical characteristics, it might become necessary to develop different methods to correctly account for pathogens they might contain.

This document specifies a colony-count technique on selective media, Slanetz Bartley agar or Bile Esculin Azide agar, respectively. The method is based on EN ISO 7899-2:2000.