TOTAL PLATE COUNT

Total Plate Count

The total plate count is the enumeration of aerobic, mesophillic organisms that grow in aerobic conditions under moderate temperatures of 20-45°C. This includes all aerobic bacteria, yeast, molds and fungi that grows in the specific agar. This count includes all pathogens and non pathogens and is used to determine the hygienic status of food produced.

Method For Enumerating Total Plate Aerobic Bacteria

Conventional Method - Biolife Italiana

Total plate count can be made using plate count agar. This microbiological growth medium is not a selective medium, Arasains Indonesia provides Biolife Standard plate count agar. Typically, this agar consists of peptone, yeast extract glucose and agar. Two methods of growing are usually practiced- the pour plate or the spread plate. The pour plate mixes the sample and the agar at 45°C and pours it onto a petri dish. The spread plate method uses a solidified agar plate and uses a spreader to spread the bacteria onto the plate.

Film Method - MC Media Pad® RAC

Merck Indonesia supplies the MC-Media Pad® that designed for convenient and rapid routine testing of microbial contaminations in your food and beverage products. The pads are coated with a growth medium and chromogenic substrate for specific detection allowing faster results and improved readout. When the sample is applied, the liquid spreads evenly on the pad by capillary action. No additional working steps are required, improving the workflow and reducing the risk of contamination. It also can be used for environmental testing ie. direct stamping, air sampling and membrane filtrations. The MC-Media Pad® is ready-to-use and provides additional features for your cost-efficiency. This is AOAC and MicroVal approved.


 Benefits:

  • Save space in your fridge and incubator
  • Go green and gain: reduce your environmental impact
  • Improve your inventory management with shelf life of up to 15 months.
  • Comply with regulations.
  • Simply your workflow on product testing and environmental testing.


Film Method - Compact Dry TC

R-Biopharm Indonesia supplies the Compact Dry TC. Compact Dry TC contains a standard nutrient medium for detection of total plate count. Due to the tetrazolium salt which is integrated into the medium and serves as redox indicator die, the grown colonies will be red coloured and therefore easily to identify and differentiable from possible food residues on the plate.


  Benefits:

  • Ready-to-use
  • No change in handling
  • No additional tools & equipment
  • Approved by AOAC, NordVal, and MicroVal
  • Reliable results, easy to read and count
  • Suitable for food samples, liquids & surface swabs
  • Easy to store at RT



Enzyme Substrate Method - Simplate TPC

Merck Biocontrol Indonesia uses the Simplate technology for enumeration of total plate count. This method uses the proprietary binary detection technology in microwells to enable easy counting of colonies. This eliminates the problem of spreaders giving false counts. The time to results is 24 hours. Only one plate is needed and duplicate plating is not necessary.


Benefit:

  • Approved by AOAC and MicroVal
  • No media preparation
  • Faster time to result
  • Easy to interpret
  • No more serial dilution and duplicate plating
  • No spreading interference

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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Why does every food manufacturer monitor total plate count?

    This is the simplest test for the safety of your food from a microbiological stand point. It indicates the hygienic conditions the food is produced in and whether your customers will have a problem eating it. It is an early warning detection to a possible problem.

  • Is counting important for total aerobic bacteria?

    Accurate counting is very important because most food is not sterile and has a certain number of bacteria in it. Counting will give you the estimate of the shelf life of the product. Most food produced if there is any quality control from a microbiological standpoint, will release the food by a limit on the total aerobic bacteria. Over estimating as well as under estimating is not desirable.

  • What is the disadvantage of using thin spread of agar like agar films sold commercially?

    The ISO standard has specifies that the minimum thickness of agar in a petri dish is 4.5 mm. They have figured that is the minimum needed to give nutrients to bacteria. Some aerobic bacteria grows rapidly and they consume lots of nutrients. When this happen all bacteria dies and the result is no count. This is a serious error that will damage your company as it is a false negative.