Can the alternative methods for indicator organism testing live up to expectations?

Many labs are looking to streamline their routine microbial testing workflow and there are currently a number of convenient solutions available. Advantages of these convenient media solutions include:

• Compliance to relevant international standards
• Fewer handling steps
• Faster time to results
• Automatic sample diffusion
• Long shelf life

MC-Media Pad

The MC-Media Pad is designed as a convenient method for rapid routine testing of microbial contamination in food and beverage samples throughout production, from raw materials to finished products. The system is composed of a series of ready-to-use pads for total count or specific detection and enumeration of indicator organisms and they are available to test for coliforms, E. coli & coliforms, yeasts & molds, or for rapid aerobic counts. MC-Media Pad Rapid Aerobic Count (RAC), MC-Media Pad Coliform, MC-Media Pad E. coli & Coliform and MC-Media Pad Yeast & Mold have all received certification from the AOAC Research Institute as Performance Tested Methods℠.

How well do MC-Media Pads perform with different matrices?

We challenged MC-Media pads with a range of food samples with difficult properties including high fat, salt or sugar content, high viscosity or acidity, strong color, or enzymatic activity to show performance data, give handling recommendations and interpretation guidelines for food and beverage products that exhibit special characteristics. The tricky food matrices tested are outlined in the following table:

Results

Detection and enumeration was possible with all of the samples tested, depending on the sample, slight alterations to handling helped to obtain the best results.

Conclusion

The study demonstrated that AOAC-certified MC-Media Pads can be used for detection and enumeration of indicator organism contamination, even when the test matrix is particularly challenging.

Download the study to learn how to handle difficult-to-test matrices with MC-Media Pads.

Visit the website to discover more solutions for indicator organism testing.

SigmaAldrich.com/Food-Microbiology