Photo at left shows (left to right): Desulfotomaculum nigrificans, Clostridium sporogenes, and Escherichia coli in Lab M's iron sulphite agar.

Heywood, UK-based Lab M has added a new product to its range of dehydrated culture media for the detection of anaerobic organisms associated with sulfide spoilage in food. Using a modification of a formulation originally developed by the National Canners Association of America, Lab M’s new iron sulphite [U.S. spelling: sulfite] agar is able to detect organisms associated with sulfide spoilage of low-acid canned foods, such as meats, milk and vegetables.

This type of spoilage is associated with anaerobic, sulfide-reducing, spore-forming bacteria such as the themophilic Desulfotomaculum nigrificans and the mesophilic Clostridium sporogenes. Lab M’s iron sulfite agar can be used with the standard industry methodologies; Deep-Shake Culture or Attenborough and Scarr membrane filter methods and can be incubated at temperatures suitable for the detection of thermophiles or mesophiles. The agar's reduced sodium sulfite content supports improved detection of some strains of Cl. sporogenes.

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