RAPID'Listeria spp. agar, manufactured by Bio-Rad Laboratories, was granted Performance Tested Method Status by the AOAC Research Institute (certificate # 080701). RAPID'Listeria spp. was evaluated for isolation and identification of Listeria spp. from stainless steel, ceramic, plastic and sealed concrete environmental surfaces. It is a rapid method producing accurate and easy-to-read results. All species of Listeria produce blue colonies on RAPID'Listeria spp.

RAPID'Listeria spp. is a selective chromogenic plating medium for the isolation and presumptive identification of all species of Listeria. The cultural properties of the medium are based on a balance of carefully selected growth-promoting nutrients, enzymatic enhancers and a mixture of selective agents. The presumptive chromogenic identification system relies on a chromogenic substrate that provides the detection of ß-D-glucosidase activity, an enzyme common to all species of Listeria. Hydrolysis of the substrate leads to the formation of a colored precipitate, with all the presumptive Listeria positive colonies turning blue. Combined with this principle, RAPID'Listeria spp. uses an original selective mixture which inhibits most background flora. The few non-Listeria bacteria that do grow on the agar will produce colorless colonies.

Key benefits:

• Economical solution
  
• Validated high specificity and sensitivity
  
• Easy-to-read chromogenic reaction
  
• All Listeria species are blue colonies
  

The RAPID'Listeria spp. method is also AFNOR-ISO 16140 validated for the detection of Listeria spp. in environmental and food samples under BRD 07/12 - 12/06.