The number of viable organisms is an indicator of the hygiene state of the food product; it is an indicator of possible cross-contamination or high biomass. The enumeration gives the result of the bacteriological state of the environment and production conditions.

• Total flora / Mesophilic flora
• Lactic flora
• Enterobacteria
• Coliforms
• Escherichia coli beta glucuronidase positive
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Yeasts & Molds
• Bacillus cereus

Testing for the presence of a possible pathogen responsible for infection (e.g. collective food poisoning) in the product in order to determine whether it is safe for consumption.

• Salmonella spp.
• Listeria monocytogenes
• Campylobacter spp.

Various microbiological analyses of food product before it is placed on the market.

• Aging process study
• Process validation
• Fertility / Sterility tests
• Challenge test

Aim: Evaluate the repeatability of a volume dispensed consecutively, after a FlexiPump calibration, from a FlexiPump calibration from a 2L diluent bottle (tube weight at the bottom and bottle filled for calibration).

Conclusion: From the results obtained in this test, we can conclude that dispensing successive doses with the FlexiPump, from a 2-liter bottle of diluent, shows excellent repeatability. There is no drift in dispensing volume as the bottle empties.

Aim: Evaluate the repeatability of a consecutively dispensed volume, after instrument calibration, from a 2L diluent bag.

Conclusion: From the results obtained in this test, we can conclude that dispensing successive doses with the FlexiPump, from a diluent bag, shows excellent repeatability. There is no drift in dispensing volume as the bag empties.

Aim: Check the dispensing accuracy of a 50 mL volume with a FlexiPump Pro peristaltic pump, with a dispensing time of less than 4/5 seconds.

Conclusion: The FlexiPump Pro is accurate for a 50 mL dispense, under the conditions described above. Note that under these conditions, each dispense took 2.7s.

1. Plating validation easySpiral/easyeasySpiral Pro in decreasing exponential mode
   1. Aim: To study the reliability of easySpiral/easySpiral Pro plating in decreasing exponential mode (known as the Spiral method) by carrying out a comparative study with the reference method "manual surface plating" (known as the classic technique).
   2. Conclusion: Our results show a strong correlation (R2 ≥ 0.982) between plating in Spiral mode using the easySpiral and the conventional method. Also, the average difference in log CFU/mL between the two methods is 12 times less than the maximum difference, and therefore not significant.
2. Cleaning efficiency of easySpiral/easyeasySpiral Pro
   1. Aim: Ensure that the easySpiral/easySpiral Pro stylus is cleaned between each sample run. Check the effectiveness of stylus disinfection by inoculating with sterile diluent.
   2. Conclusion: The study shows that for all six bacterial strains, cleaning in either long or short mode enables disinfection of the stylus and avoids contamination between samples. Three disinfectants were tested: ethanol 70%, bleach 1% and a formulation based on hydrogen peroxide (3%) + peracetic acid (0.08%). Other formulations with slightly different concentrations of H2O2 and APA may also be effective.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the Scan 1200 by comparing manual and automatic counting. For optimal comparison, Petri dishes were plated and incubated in our R&D laboratory, using standard methods to reproduce normal laboratory conditions. The same technician then counted the colonies with a Scan 1200 and manually to obtain results for evaluating the accuracy of the Scan. This document also contains a study of the analysis time per dish and an estimate of the time spent by the laboratories.

Conclusion: Tests show in a variety of ways (regression line, correlation coefficient, average Log value difference, and ISO 7218:2007) that Scan 1200:
— Enables faster counting (up to 80% time saving).
— Counts as well as another user (strong relationship between the 2 methods, with an average difference of 2.35% per dish).

The Scan 1200 is an excellent tool for laboratories needing to count large numbers of dishes accurately and without wasting time. All results can be saved in specific files (called sessions) which contain all dish photos and counts, guaranteeing analysis quality and perfect traceability.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the ScanStation 100 by comparing the manual and automatic methods for food and milk payment analysis. For an optimal comparison, 1238 food samples, in duplicate, were carried out on a multitude of micro-organisms according to the laboratory’s reference methods. This document also contains curves showing the evolution of bacterial load over time.

Conclusion: Interpretation of these curves shows that the number of CFUs evolves up to 15 h of incubation. Thereafter, the number of CFU remains constant. Real-time counting during incubation enables us to quickly determine the presence of contamination, for example, and thus to define corrective actions before the end of incubation.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the ScanStation (ISS) by comparing manual and automatic counting on the analysis of samples seeded on Symphony and TBX media.

Conclusion: The difference in the majority of counts does not exceed the 0.3 log CFU limit. These results show no significant difference. By reading the "Time to Result" of the various microorganisms grown on Symphony and TBX media, it is possible to anticipate count results, enabling the user to define corrective action more quickly.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the ScanStation (ISS) by comparing manual and automatic decomposition of pure cultures of Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes.

Conclusion: The difference in the majority of counts does not exceed the 0.3 log CFU limit. These results show no significant difference. Reading the "Time to Result" for Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes makes it possible to anticipate count results, enabling the user to define corrective action more quickly.

Aim: The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the ScanStation to count in real time colonies on membrane filtration. Enumeration was performed on waterborne pathogens that have been linked to healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Bacterial suspensions were passed through filtration membranes that were deposited on Petri dish. Colonies were manually counted and results were compared with automatic counts performed by the ScanStation.

Conclusion: ScanStation performs well in counting colonies on filtration membranes in real time. For the seven strains tested, the automatic and manual counts are similar when bacterial suspensions are filtered on white polycarbonate membranes (without grids). For best automatic counts in this case, the recommended light configuration is white background (light from below). This study shows that bacterial colonies can be efficiently counted with ScanStation.

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of ScanStation (ISS) by comparing manual and automatic counting of plated samples for robustness counting assessment.

Conclusion: ScanStation’s robustness tests showed reproducible data under both intra- and inter-machine conditions.