25.2: Introduction
- Page ID
- 40315
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Most foods are solid at least in some way, and so food must be re-suspended in water in order to perform a plate count. In addition, because most foods will not contain extremely high numbers of bacteria the dilution scheme is set-up accordingly. Finally, because coliforms are indicators of possible contamination by intestinal pathogens, food samples are routinely tested for them.
Your group will bring in a sample of a fresh food that should be safe to eat, yet might contain bacteria. A Standard Plate Count (SPC) will be performed to determine the number of viable bacteria in the original sample.
Contributors and Attributions
Kelly C. Burke (College of the Canyons)