Abstract: | A new SimPlate heterotrophic plate count (HPC) method (IDEXX Laboratories, Westbrook, Maine) was compared with the pour plate method at 35°C for 48 h. Six laboratories tested a total of 632 water samples. The SimPlate HPC method was found to be equivalent to the pour plate method by regression analysis (r = 0.95; y = 0.99X + 0.06). |