Guidelines
PHI data entry and interpretation
Summary of main points
This document outlines:

data entry into Product Hygiene Indicator (PHI) data entry Workbook by
Department of Agriculture On-Plant Staff (OPS) and Establishment
management.

validation and analysis of data under the PHI program

the use of the data analysis tools within the PHI Workbook by the OPS and
Establishment management to measure performance
Contents
This document contains the following topics and subtopics:
PHI data entry and interpretation ....................................................................................... 1
1
2
3
3.1
3.2
4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
5
6
6.1
7
7.1
8
Scope ........................................................................................................................... 2
Purpose ...................................................................................................................... 2
Setting up PHI data entry workbook ............................................................... 2
Downloading data entry Workbook .............................................................................2
Enabling Macros within the Data Entry Workbook ...............................................3
Entering data into the workbook ...................................................................... 4
Entering establishment information into the “Rank’ Spreadsheet ..................4
Data entry into the “Plant” Spreadsheet by Establishment Staff ......................4
Data entry into the “Micro” Spreadsheet by Establishment Staff .....................7
Data entry into “STEC and O157” Spreadsheet by Establishment Staff.........8
Data entry into “DA” Spreadsheet by On-Plant Staff..............................................9
Data Validation ...................................................................................................... 10
DATA analysis – “Graphs” spreadsheet......................................................... 10
Interpretation of averaged MHA and ESAM data ................................................. 11
Analysis of Daily microbiological data .......................................................... 12
Interpretation ..................................................................................................................... 13
Submission of PHI Workbooks ........................................................................ 14
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1
Scope
This document applies to all export registered slaughter and boning establishment and
Department of Agriculture personnel that enter data into or interpret data entered into the
Product Hygiene Indicator workbook.
2
Purpose
This document provides information for departmental on-plant staff and establishment
staffs on how to:
3

prepare the Product Hygiene Indicator (PHI) data entry workbook

enter data into the PHI workbook spreadsheets

validate and analyse of the data entered into the workbook and

use and interpret the data analysis tools within the PHI Workbook
Setting up PHI data entry workbook
It is important that you:
3.1

Always use a new data submission workbook for monthly data entry;

Ensure that the data entry workbook used is the latest version on the departmental
website (ELMER); and

Use a single data entry (unique) workbook (file) for each species.
Downloading data entry Workbook
To download the latest/most current version of the PHI data submission workbook:

Go to the department webpage to locate the file Click on the file

Open the file by clicking the ‘Open’ button in the dialog box

If you are downloading Excel 2007, you need to save the file as a Macro-Enabled
Workbook (***.xlsm).

To achieve this click the MS Office button

Click Save As.. and select Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook

Locate the folder on your computer where you want to save the file (all submitted
files should be kept in the same folder).
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3.2

If all establishments follow the same filing approach then there will be less errors in
file recognition. It is suggested that the following file nomenclature be adopted: “Est
XXXX Species PHI MMM YYYY”; Where XXXX is your four digit establishment
number, MMM represents the Month in letters (e.g. Jun, Sep etc.) and YYYY the year.

Click Save
Enabling Macros within the Data Entry Workbook
Where upon opening a workbook there is a security bar above the document pane:

Click ‘Options..’ right side of the Security Warning bar under menu bar

Check the ‘Enable this content’ circle in the dialog box, and then press OK. The file is
now ready for Use. You will need to enable macros every time you open the file for
data entry. If the macro ‘Security Warning’ option is not displayed you need to
change the Macro security setting
Changing the Macros Security Setting

Click the Developer tab

In the Code group, click Macro Security

Click the 2nd option “Disable all macros with notification” in the Macro Settings
category

Use the help function and type “Macro Security” for instruction on enabling macros
in Excel 2003
Note: If the Developer tab is not displayed, click the Microsoft Office Button
, click Excel
Options, and then in the Popular category, under Top options for working with Excel,
click Show Developer tab in the Ribbon.
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4
Entering data into the workbook
4.1
Entering establishment information into the “Rank’ Spreadsheet
To enter data into the workbook set up the workbook with the establishment details. To do
this:

Open the PHI workbook and enable the macros

Click on the “Rank” tab at the bottom of the screen to select the Rank sheet

Click on the ‘Change User data’ button

Enter the “establishment number” and the “year”

In each of the fields - Select the relevant species, month, pre-evisceration wash type
and dressing types

Tick the “Boning Only” box if the establishment is an independent boning
establishment

Write comments in the comment box that you think may be important to the
interpretation of the data
Click OK. You can change these data at any time by using the “Change User Data” button.
4.2
Data entry into the “Plant” Spreadsheet by Establishment Staff
You are now ready to enter your establishment data into the workbook. You will enter data
firstly on the “Plant” worksheet. To do this, click on the “Plant” tab at the bottom of the
screen to bring the worksheet onto the screen. You can then:

Enter the data from one entire day on a single line (the data is entered for the day
that the MHA examination was conducted)

Leave the line blank where no data is collected on a specific date.

Leave the cell blank where no test has been performed.

Only enter “0” when a test has been performed and “0” is the result.
Data that you will enter on this page includes:
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
Total kill for that day

Daily averaged slaughter floor, offal and boning MHA scores, total number sampled
and ZT numbers

CCP Monitoring data (this is the total number of samples taken to obtain the ZT
record i.e. the number of MHA samples plus the number of additional samples
examined as per CCP monitoring requirements)

Carton Meat Assessment data including:
o
o
o
o
total number of cartons sampled per day for all product categories;
contamination: hair, hide, scurf, grease, rail oils, dust, milk, faeces, urine,
ingesta etc;
pathology: abscess, CLA, nodules, cysts, pleurisy etc;
manufacturing defects: bone, cartilage, bruises, scars etc.
Please note: You do not need to enter the carcase and carton microbiology results onto the
“Plant” sheet. The microbiology data can be uploaded from “Micro” sheet after the data has
been entered there.
You do however need to enter data under ‘Failed E. coli window’ column when an E. coli
window has been breached (i.e. enter a 1 for the first breach then leave cells blank unless
subsequent breaches occur, if they do enter the number of the breach as per the ESAM
program requirement);
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Enter Contact Surfaces and Personal Hygiene microbiology results.
Data recorded in these tables is for contact surface swabs and personal hygiene and
equipment swabs taken by the establishment to show the effectiveness of the cleaning
processes employed. Each sample is assessed by:

conducting an aerobic plate count of the sample and results are recorded as counts
of organisms grown and are represented as colony forming units per square
centimetre (CFU/cm2).

The data entry sheet two categories (“contact surfaces” and “personal hygiene”) of
sample and each category is divided into a number of columns that capture a range
of results (“0”, “0-5”, “>5-10”, “>10-20”, “>20-30” and “>30”).

The number entered into these columns is the number of tests on the date identified
that returned a positive result within the range identified at the head of the column.

Establishments are expected to account for results over 5CFU/cm2.
Once data has been entered into the sheet the operator should update “Plant” data by
clicking on the “update button” on the relevant sheet. Updating will perform a number of
analyses in the program which will produce graphs to assist in
establishment/departmental weekly meetings.
When you have completed your data entry click the “SAVE” button in the Rank sheet to save
the file as “Est XXXX Species PHI MMM YYYY”. Where XXXX is your four digit establishment
number, MMM represents the Month and YYYY the year.
Important thing to note include:

you can use “copy” and “paste” or “Paste Special..” functions in the excel workbook
for data entry but you cannot use the “cut” function as this function interferers with
calculations performed during the analysis of the data.

Where there is more than one shift for the same operation e.g. slaughter, you need
to combine data For example; to calculate MHA scores where there are two shifts in
a day:
o
o
o
combine the sample sizes to record total number sampled the sample sizes
together and report the total number sampled over all shifts
combine the averaged MHA scores for each shift and divide by the number of
shifts being assessed
combine the number of faecal, ingesta or milk contamination events
identified (both morning and evening shift) to produce a total number of
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incidents for the day and record this in the appropriate place on the PHI
workbook.
4.3
Data entry into the “Micro” Spreadsheet by Establishment Staff
The “Micro” spreadsheet is intended to capture both carcase and carton microbiology
testing data. To enter your data into the “Micro” spreadsheet click on the “Micro” tab on the
bottom of the on the workbook; then:
If you have microbiology data in the same format as the “micro” spreadsheet:

you may copy and paste data into the spreadsheet using the “Paste Special...”
function. Please do NOT cut and paste data as this interferers with calculations
performed on the data.
If you do not have data in the same format as the spreadsheet:

Enter the date. Dates must be from the month you used to set up the workbook and
must be in chronological order. The date entered is the date of slaughter for
carcases or the date of boning (production) for carton product.

Enter “Species”, “Dressing”, “Category” and “Swabbed types” from the dropdown
menu.

Enter APC, E. coli and Coliform counts as number of colonies per cm2 for Carcase
sample or per g for carton sample. Results must be in numeric values, i.e.

if the count is less than the limit of detection enter 0 (zero)

if the count is greater than the upper limit, enter the upper limit

if the number is an estimate enter the estimated number only do not use “~” or any
other symbol

Enter a 0 (zero) when a test has been done but no count obtained. Leave the cell
blank if no test was undertaken for that particular organism in that day.

Enter Salmonella results from the dropdown menu i.e. POS or NEG. Enter Pending if
the results were not known at the time of submitting the PHI sheet. Leave the cell
blank if no test was done (do not enter ‘not tested’).

Use the Comments column to enter any text about sampling for that day.
Update Micro data after entering by clicking the “Update Micro data to Plant sheet” button.
This will stimulate the processing/analysis of this data to calculate daily average (Log10) of
individual data.
Again it is important to note:
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4.4

that data must be copied and pasted if this type of function is to be used as cutting
or pasting cut data into the spreadsheet will by-pass the data validation code.

that if pasting data please make sure that the data is in the correct format and that
all spelling is consistent with that in the drop down list. This is essential to ensure
that the data is correctly analysed by the program and reported on the RANK sheet
Incorrect data entry could adversely affect the PHI Index score of the establishment!
Data entry into “STEC and O157” Spreadsheet by Establishment Staff
The “STEC” sheet is intended to capture both E. coli O157:H7 and STEC test results

Select the “STEC and O157” spreadsheet tab

If you have microbiology data in the same format as the “STEC” spreadsheet you
may copy and paste data into the spreadsheet. Do not cut and paste data as this
interferers with calculations performed on the data.

If you do not have data in the same form as the spreadsheet:
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Enter date of sampling (this is the actual date of sampling, and may not
correspond with the date of production) and the lot identification code
Enter source material from which the carton sampled was derived should be
entered as per the drop down list. If the sample represents multiple
slaughter classes enter the class that is the dominant slaughter class
represented by the lot.
Enter intended destination from the dropdown list. Select USA for all
verification and follow-up verification tests.
Enter other sample identification information. Establishment can use this
information in any investigations and need to fill out where the
establishment sees a benefit in having this data.
Enter test information (enter data supplied by the laboratory in relation to
the sample tested). Enough information must be recorded to provide
traceability. Use the dropdown lists provided to enter results so that results
are reported consistently.
Enter Scope of test, i.e. ‘O157’ if test was just for E. coli O157 or ‘O157 &
STEC’ for both E. coli O157 and non-O157
Record serotype detected from dropdown list i.e. if the screening test was
positive for O157 only, O157 & one or more STEC or just STEC (non-O157)
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o
o
Note:
4.5
Enter the serotypes isolated during confirmation. To add more than one
serotype from the list continues to select serotypes by activating the dropdown list
Use the Disposition and Comments column to enter any text about sampling
for that day.
It is critical that the correct spelling is used for all automatic entries to ensure that
this occurs, please use the drop-down lists have been provided. Please use these lists
to initially enter the correct value for each field. Once this has been done it is then
only necessary to commence to type the desired entry into a cell for Excel to recognise
the entry and automatically fill the cell with the correct data. (Initial entries can also
be copied and pasted to other cells)
Data entry into “DA” Spreadsheet by On-Plant Staff
The Department data must be entered into a shared worksheet kept in the departmental
office. A copy of the worksheet with the company and departmental data should be used in
discussions at weekly meetings to highlight or resolve current issues where applicable. To
enter departmental MHA data:

Select the “DA” sheet

Do not enter date and Kill number, these are captured from the plant sheet and must
not be changed. You should however verify a sample of the kill numbers supplied
against the information you have received during the week/month.

Enter the data from one entire day on a single day (if there were two shifts on a day,
combine the data and enter the totals in the relevant column of the spreadsheet).

Enter a zero when MHA was determined but no result obtained. Leave the line blank
if no MHA examination was conducted on that day. The data is entered for the day
that the MHA examination was conducted.

Enter comment in the comment column if there are any issues with sampling on the
day.

Enter the MHA score, total number of carcases examined and number of zero
tolerance (faecal or ingesta contamination) defects for each of the slaughter floor,
boning room and offals at the frequency determined by MEVS.

Update department data after entering by 'pressing' the Upload buttons on the
sheets.
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
5
When data entry is complete, click the Save button in the Rank sheet to save the file
as “Est xxxx Species PHI MMM YYYY”.
Data Validation
When all the required establishment and departmental data has been entered for a week,
the establishment and departmental OPS should verify that the information is accurate. To
assist in this task we have added a verification button to the “Rank” sheet which will
highlight high or unusual readings. Some errors will be as a result of species or processing
differences and can be ignored. To access this facility:
6

Select “Rank” sheet tab

Click Data Validation button (circled in red in figure below). A data error dialog box
will appear with possible errors

Carefully review the errors and correct where applicable by updating the data in the
respective sheets

Ignore STEC errors if these not applicable to your establishment

Save updates
DATA analysis – “Graphs” spreadsheet
To assist company and departmental staff use the data effectively and efficiently a number
of analyses are performed within the workbook. The outputs of these analyses are
expressed in graphic presentation or as indices to monitor for trends or alerts.
You can plot graphs throughout the month as you enter the data in the spreadsheets. These
graphs and the raw data can then be discussed at the weekly meeting as evidence of the
success or otherwise of process control. To create the graphs:

Make sure that the microbiology data has been uploaded to the “Plant” sheet using
the “Update” button in the “Micro” spreadsheet

Select “Graphs” sheet tab
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6.1

Click ‘Graph MHA Data’ to plot daily average of the MHA data

Click ‘Graph Micro Data’ to plot daily average of the microbiology results
Interpretation of averaged MHA and ESAM data
The graphs have been provided to assist establishment staff and departmental officers
review the data throughout the month. They will be able to identify trends, monitor
performance within the establishment and identify areas where there are issues or where
there are differences between data collection or interpretation between the departmental
staff and company QA. The data and the graphs will provide evidence of the difference and
provide an opportunity for discussion between the two parties.
Note: All establishments should be meeting the Australian standard and therefore high
results may not indicate unacceptable product hygiene but be an indicator of the challenges
to the system and identify the tightness of the system.
Meat Hygiene Assessment: MHA scores are calculated by the plant according to the MHA
guidelines. Scores are entered as daily averages by the company (blue line) and the
department (red line). The graphs can provide a visual depiction of trends and findings and
assist in department/company discussions. Interpretation of the MHA data should be in
accordance with the instruction in the “MHA Guidelines”.
Microbiological counts (log cfu/cm2 or g): Shows daily average of TVC, E. coli and coliform
counts in carcass (red) and carton (blue) samples. It is reasonable to expect that the carton
meat samples will be higher than carcase samples for two reasons:
The carton meat samples are taken as tissue samples – which under normal circumstances
will give higher counts than the swab samples taken from the carcases
Growth of organisms will occur when the product is being boned, so boning room counts
will invariably be higher than slaughter floor samples..
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TVC – total viable count (aerobic plate count or APC) is a count of microorganisms on the
meat that will grow under aerobic or oxygenated conditions. The presence of these bacteria
may provide an indication of the effectiveness of overall hygienic measures taken and
interventions applied during the slaughter and dressing process. There are many factors
that can contribute to the total viable counts. These include but not limited to:

cleanliness of the animal,

plant operational hygiene,

length of hair/wool,

operator skills,

dressing type,

personal hygiene,

carcass handling (washing, trimming), etc.
Coliforms – coliforms are bacteria normally present in the intestines and faeces of man and
animals although there are some coliforms that are found in the environment. Unlike faecal
pathogens, coliforms can survive and grow in the food processing environment and some
cold tolerant coliforms will grow at less than 7C. Coliform counts can be used as an
indicator of sanitation effectiveness, although it is important to understand that the
presence of coliforms is unavoidable in raw meats.
E. coli – the presence of E. coli in meat samples indicates contamination cross
contamination of carcases or product with faeces or ingesta (possibly milk) and is
considered to be a specific indicator of potential contamination with faecal pathogens (i.e.
STEC, Salmonella etc.). The department maintains a monitoring and action program for the
detection of E. coli or Salmonella on carcases or product. These are explained in the
departmental Microbiological guidelines.
7
Analysis of Daily microbiological data
You can also plot individual carcase and carton microbiology data for classes of stock
processed within the month. All the daily data entered into the “Micro” spreadsheet for the
class of stock selected will be included in the graphs prepared. This will highlight the
distribution of the results within the time period and show the spread of the results within
a day. To access and prepare the graphs:
Make sure that the microbiology data has been uploaded to the “Plant” sheet using the
Update button in the “Micro” sheet

Select “Graphs” sheet
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7.1

Scroll down to the heading ‘Carcase and Carton Micro Analysis’

Select a species from the list box under ‘Species’ (circled in red in figure above)

Click ‘Graph Micro Data’ button to graph the current selected species
Interpretation
The graphs produced from the individual daily plots provide a pictorial expression of the
number of positives within a day for each of the culture types and shows how the average
in the previous section was obtained. The spread of the counts provides an estimate of the
consistent nature of the data with the more spread the counts, the greater the variability in
the microbiological status of the sampled product or carcases. Again, this information is to
provide assistance to the establishment and the OPV in identifying trends within the
process control and to facilitate a discussion rather than provide an absolute assessment of
the carcases or product. All establishments should be meeting the Australian standard and
therefore high counts may not necessarily indicate unacceptable product hygiene.
Carcase/Carton Micro - TVC: The Graph shows counts on individual samples for each day
they were collected throughout the month. Indicator limits (red dotted lines) are displayed
on these graphs and have been prepared from national species tercile data collected in
ESAM and the PHI over a number of years. Values that fall above the upper line are the
counts that are in the higher tercile or 33.33% of establishments with higher counts.
National values for a particular species can be found in the Rank sheet. TVC indicates
effectiveness of overall hygienic measures taken during slaughter process.
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Carcase Micro – E. coli: Shows count on individual samples for each day they were
collected throughout the month. Values that fall above the upper line are the counts that
are in the higher tercile or 33.33% of establishments with higher counts. As indicated
before presence of E. coli indicates recent contamination or cross contamination with
faeces or ingesta and is considered to be specific indicator of potential contamination with
faecal pathogens (i.e. STEC, Salmonella). This information will also assist establishments
and on plant veterinarians monitor whether an E. coli window should be open or
monitored, especially when there are many E. coli detections in a day/month.
Carton Micro – Coliform: Shows coliform count on individual samples for each day they
were collected throughout the month. Values that fall above the upper line are the counts
that are in the higher tercile or 33.33% of establishments with higher counts. Coliform
counts can be used as an indicator of sanitation efficiency, although the presence of
coliforms is unavoidable in raw meats.
8
Submission of PHI Workbooks
Establishments should provide the completed sections of the workbook to the OPV as soon
as practicable after the end of the month. There are a number of tools to verify the accuracy
of the data and to detect common minor errors.
It is the responsibility of plant management to enter Micro (ESAM) and STEC data into the
respective spreadsheets. Only completed records should be submitted. It is expected that
the only record that might not be completed by the submission deadline is a Salmonella
serotyping result
Where a Salmonella result is delayed in its return, the establishment should enter as much
data as is available about the test and any follow up data should be sent via email to the PHI
Mail Box and this will be entered into the monthly data by departmental central office staff.
Do not resubmit the whole KPI submission sheet only provide the updated data, clearly
indicating where the data has originated from and the samples that it refers to.
When the sheet has been completed the Plant or the DA OPS should check the data for
obvious errors by pressing the "Data Validation" button (refer section 6 above). The
program looks for possible high values and obvious errors. Some errors will be as a result
of species or processing differences and can be ignored.
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It is important that you submit only completed and error checked records. If for any
reason you cannot complete a PHI workbook by the submission deadline then submit
the available data and send any follow-up data to the PHI Mail Box when available with
a brief message in the body of the mail, i.e. Updated PHI data attached
Forward the completed PHI submission within seven (7) working days of the end of
the month via email to ProductHygieneIndex@agriculture.gov.au. If you expect delays
or issues with submitting data please advise the department by email through the
product hygiene index mailbox before the 7-day deadline.
Version
Version Date
1.
14/08/2015
PHI data entry and interpretation
Date published: 14/08/2015
Detail reason for issue or
amendments
New document
Author / Document Owner
(Program)
Author:
Arefin Chowdhury
Glen Edmunds
Owner:
Export Standards Branch
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