Food Safety
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Food Safety
  • NEWS
    • Latest News
    • White Papers
  • PRODUCTS
  • TOPICS
    • Contamination Control
    • Food Types
    • Management
    • Process Control
    • Regulatory
    • Sanitation
    • Supply Chain
    • Testing and Analysis
  • PODCAST
  • EXCLUSIVES
    • Food Safety Five Newsreel
    • eBooks
    • FSM Distinguished Service Award
    • Interactive Product Spotlights
    • Videos
  • BUYER'S GUIDE
  • MORE
    • ENEWSLETTER >
      • Archive Issues
      • Subscribe to eNews
    • Store
    • Sponsor Insights
  • WEBINARS
  • FOOD SAFETY SUMMIT
  • EMAG
    • eMagazine
    • Archive Issues
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • SIGN UP!
Testing & AnalysisMethodsMicrobiological

Advances in Spiral Plating Increase Reproducibility and Cost Savings

June 1, 2011

The number of food samples that require bacterial analysis continues to increase each year. The importance of food safety to the public is greater than ever. The United States Department of Agriculture estimates 75 million cases of foodborne illnesses per year, which increases the need for rapid results in bacterial testing. Industry has done a tremendous job developing new instrumentation and tests to fill this need. However, food researchers and scientists must still validate their work compared to primary, traditional, microbiological methods.

Drs. Jim Gilchrist and Jeptha Campbell conceived the spiral plating method at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the early 1970s. The technique was originally developed to plate and enumerate organisms in milk, but has since been utilized in a wide variety of industries and on a broad range of product types. In the spiral plating method, a stylus deposits precise syringe-controlled amounts of sample onto a rotating agar plate in an outward motion. Due to this unique plating action, an Archimedes spiral pattern is created that exponentially reduces the number of microbes placed along the spiral track. This exponential reduction gives the same effect as a series of up to four 10-fold dilutions on one plate without actually adding any diluent.

The Autoplate® Spiral Plating System
Advanced Instruments, Inc. (formerly Spiral Biotech, Inc.) based in Norwood, MA, has facilitated vast improvements in the field of spiral plating. The Autoplate is the latest in microprocessor-controlled spiral plating technology and uses an AOAC-approved method (#977.27) to directly plate microbial suspensions with concentrations from 40 to 1,000,000 colony-forming units (CFU)/ml on 10-cm plates without the need for serial dilutions. This automated method’s unique features result in greater sample repeatability and significant savings in time, labor and disposable materials over conventional plating methods.

Candidates for the Autoplate
Due to the high count of bacteria in many samples, determining their concentration typically requires a series of dilutions of the sample to assure that individual colonies can be distinguished. The conventional manual method of performing these serial dilutions, while effective, is clearly labor and material intensive. Additionally, growing demands on the microbiology laboratory require a difficult task: producing high-quality results quickly and repeatedly. This is particularly troublesome for high-volume laboratories. Many microbiology labs have to make a decision: Do we sacrifice quality for speed?

This system helps the microbiologist save time and money while also repeatedly delivering plates of the highest quality. It also allows a substantial reduction in operating costs by eliminating up to 75% of materials required with serial dilutions and providing a 4-log dilution effect across a standard plate. This combination of quality results and an efficient system make the Autoplate a dominant player in the marketplace.

This system was designed to help laboratory technicians utilize their time and materials more effectively. The ideal customer plates samples regularly (>25 per week), uses a sample with a microbial concentration greater than 1,000 CFU/g or CFU/ml and has samples available in volumes greater than 200 ml. Any application where counts are high, dilutions need to be made and standardization and reproducibility are important is an opportunity for spiral plating.

Application
In the food industry, there is continual research to determine the prevalence of pathogens, improve detection rates and develop methods to raise the quality of the food supply in both raw and processed food items and their ingredients. Microbes in raw milk and other dairy products such as cheese, buttermilk and yogurt, including Lactobacillus, which are useful in the production process, must be enumerated. Total viable organism counts on standard methods (e.g., plate count) or tryptic soy agars are often required. The Autoplate makes plating such items easier. It is also ideal for those interested in utilizing selective or differential agars since it can make up to 10 different plates using only one aspiration of sample.

Conclusion
Spiral plating is an ideal tool for both research and quality assurance personnel. Using this system allows the processing of large numbers of samples rapidly with consistently reliable results. Fully automated technologies, such as PCR, are terrific for rapid testing in the laboratory, but many people are still required to plate their samples in accordance with traditional methods. Spiral plating will help these people.

Spiral plating saves time, labor and supplies, which means cost savings. The plates made with the Autoplate Spiral Plating System are clean, repeatable and accurate. All of these benefits lead to the two most important qualities in a spiral plating system: efficiency and quality. This method is the only automated plating system that combines ease-of-use, precision and speed to provide microbiologists all the traditional benefits of spiral plating and more.

www.aicompanies.com

>

Share This Story

Looking for a reprint of this article?
From high-res PDFs to custom plaques, order your copy today!

Recommended Content

JOIN TODAY
to unlock your recommendations.

Already have an account? Sign In

  • people holding baby chicks

    Serovar Differences Matter: Utility of Deep Serotyping in Broiler Production and Processing

    This article discusses the significance of Salmonella in...
    Meat/Poultry
    By: Nikki Shariat Ph.D.
  • woman washing hands

    Building a Culture of Hygiene in the Food Processing Plant

    Everyone entering a food processing facility needs to...
    Training
    By: Richard F. Stier, M.S.
  • graphical representation of earth over dirt

    Climate Change and Emerging Risks to Food Safety: Building Climate Resilience

    This article examines the multifaceted threats to food...
    Management
    By: Maria Cristina Tirado Ph.D., D.V.M. and Shamini Albert Raj M.A.
Subscribe For Free!
  • eMagazine Subscription
  • Subscribe to eNewsletter
  • Manage My Preferences
  • Website Registration
  • Subscription Customer Service

More Videos

Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content is a special paid section where industry companies provide high quality, objective, non-commercial content around topics of interest to the Food Safety Magazine audience. All Sponsored Content is supplied by the advertising company and any opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily reflect the views of Food Safety Magazine or its parent company, BNP Media. Interested in participating in our Sponsored Content section? Contact your local rep!

close
  • Deli Salads
    Sponsored byCorbion

    How Food Safety is Becoming the Ultimate Differentiator in Refrigerated and Prepared Foods

Popular Stories

recalled sysco and lyons imperial nutritional shakes

Listeria Outbreak Linked to Nutritional Shakes Served at Healthcare Facilities Causes 14 Deaths

Image of fish on ice

Common Fish Food Poisoning Types and Prevention Methods

Scientist inspecting food substance with microscope

FDA Announces ‘Proactive’ Post-Market Chemical Review Program to Keep Food Supply Safe

Events

June 12, 2025

Additive Bans Ahead: Your Guide to Avoiding Risk and Maintaining Agility

Live: June 12, 2025 at 12:00 pm EDT: From this webinar, attendees will learn how ingredient bans will impact product development, labeling, and sourcing.

View All

Products

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

Global Food Safety Microbial Interventions and Molecular Advancements

See More Products
Environmental Monitoring Excellence eBook

Related Articles

  • Automation and Cost Savings Using Photometric Analysis

    See More
  • New food inspection equipment offers greater performance and cost savings

    New food inspection equipment offers greater performance and cost savings

    See More

Related Products

See More Products
  • 9781138070912.jpg

    Trends in Food Safety and Protection

  • 1119237963.jpg

    Food Safety in China: Science, Technology, Management and Regulation

  • 1119160553.jpg

    Food Safety: Innovative Analytical Tools for Safety Assessment

See More Products

Events

View AllSubmit An Event
  • October 1, 2024

    Advances in Food Decontamination Technology: A New Era of Efficiency and Effectiveness

    On Demand: From this webinar, attendees will learn about the potential for extending shelf life, resulting in decreased spoilage and improved food safety. 
View AllSubmit An Event

Related Directories

  • Limble CMMS

    The #1 Highest Rated CMMS & Asset Management Platform, Limble’s modern CMMS empowers food safety and maintenance professionals to implement preventive maintenance, easily manage assets, gain control of inventory, streamline workflows, report KPIs, organize work orders and realize millions in cost savings from reduced downtime, parts spend, and improved productivity.
  • BioSafe Systems

    BioSafe Systems provides food safety solutions with peroxyacetic acid (PAA) and Smart Technology. Our advance chemistry and OxyFusion, on-site, on-demand PAA generator, automates food safety compliance, reduce cost, and increase productivity. Our Smart Technology automates monitoring, dosing, and generates customizable data reports that are blockchain compatible.
×

Never miss the latest news and trends driving the food safety industry

eNewsletter | Website | eMagazine

JOIN TODAY!
  • RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Contact Us
    • Directories
    • Store
    • Want More
  • SIGN UP TODAY
    • Create Account
    • eMagazine
    • eNewsletter
    • Customer Service
    • Manage Preferences
  • SERVICES
    • Marketing Services
    • Reprints
    • Market Research
    • List Rental
    • Survey/Respondent Access
  • STAY CONNECTED
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • X (Twitter)
  • PRIVACY
    • PRIVACY POLICY
    • TERMS & CONDITIONS
    • DO NOT SELL MY PERSONAL INFORMATION
    • PRIVACY REQUEST
    • ACCESSIBILITY

Copyright ©2025. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing