FprEN 18278

Soil improvers and growing media - Detection of Salmonella spp.

Publication date:   Jan 8, 2026

Scope

This document specifies a method for the detection of Salmonella spp. in soil improvers and growing media. It is applicable to material in solid form (including pre-shaped growing media) and liquid form.
This document is applicable to fertilizing product blends, where a blend is a mix of two or more fertilizing products belonging to the categories of fertilizers, liming material, soil improvers, growing media, inhibitors and plant biostimulants, and where soil improvers and/or growing media comprise the highest percentage in the blend by mass or volume, or in the case of liquid form by dry mass. If soil improvers and/or growing media are not the components with the highest percentage in the blend, the European Standard relevant to the component with the highest percentage in the blend applies. In case a blend is composed of fertilizing products in equal quantity, the user of the standard decides which standard to apply.
Most of the Salmonella serovars are detected with the method described in this document. For the detection of some specific Salmonella serovars (e.g. Salmonella Typhi and Salmonella Paratyphi), additional cultivation steps can be necessary.
NOTE 1 A soil improver or a growing medium consists of a single bulky (volume-building) component or a mix of bulky (volume-building) components (for example peat, wood fibres, coconut coir, compost, expanded perlite).
NOTE 2 This method has been validated in an interlaboratory study with specific products (peat, biowaste compost, green compost and solid digestate) that were present on the market during the study (Annex C).

Related legislation

Legislation related to this standard