Catalogue of rapid microbiological methods

Identify which rapid tests are available for which foodborne micro-organisms, with this CCFRA review.

To assist food microbiologists in identifying and exploiting continually developing rapid analytical methods for foodborne micro-organisms, CCFRA has produced The Catalogue of Rapid Microbiological Methods. Written at the request of the QA/QC Working Party of the CCFRA Microbiology Panel, the review lists over 300 test kits from around 50 manufacturers used in the detection, confirmation and enumeration of micro-organisms found in food.

The review covers pathogens of interest to the agri-food chain (e.g. Salmonella, Listeria, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Cryptosporidium), spoilage organisms (e.g. yeasts) and hygiene testing. It begins with a simple table to provide information at-a-glance on what kits are available from which companies and for what microbes. Further, more detailed, tables then supply information on each of the test kits including:

• the full name of the test method
• the main principle behind the method (e.g. ELISA, gene probe, ATP)
• approximate time taken for the test
• details of the manufacturer or distributor
• the validation status of the method used (e.g. AOAC, AFNOR)
• additional key references for further reading
• company or distributor names, addresses and phone numbers