Bio-Rad has extended its range of products for the isolation, enumeration and identification of staphylococci to include RAPID´Staph. This selective agar medium has recently been approved by AFNOR, according to ISO 16140 protocol, for the 24 hr enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci at 37 °C, including Staphylococcus aureus, in food and environmental samples.

Characteristic growth of coagulase-positive staphylococci on RAPID´Staph is shown as grey-black colonies surrounded with a clear halo. Sulphamethazine prevents high levels of Proteus contamination; lithium chloride and potassium telllurite inhibit growth of other bacteria. The optimized peptone formula improves growth and suits nutritional demands of Staphylococcus.