Enumeration of Vital and Thermally Stressed Staphylococcus aureus in Foods Using Baird-Parker Pig Plasma Agar (BPP) |
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| Authors: | E. S. IDZIAK D. A. A. MOSSEL |
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| Affiliation: | Department of Food Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, The University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands |
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| Abstract: | Baird-Parker (BP), modified BP medium (egg yolk replaced with pig plasma, BPP) and modified Vogel and Johnson agar (phosphatidyl choline, deoxyribonucleic acid, with catalase added, PCVJ) were equally efficient for enumerating both non-stressed and thermally-stressed populations of Staphylococcus aureus from pure cultures and naturally contaminated foods. Vogel and Johnson agar was inferior. All colonies exhibiting coagulase activity on BPP were subsequently confirmed as Staph. aureus ; this was not the case with presumptive colonies from BP and PCVJ. Based on selectivity, definitive diagnostic characterization of colonies and increased sensitivity (more sample plated), BPP should be considered as the reference method for the routine enumeration of Staph. aureus in foods. |
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