Method and composition for detecting bacterial contamination in food products
AssigneeBioControl Systems, Inc.
InventorsDavid E. Townsend, Chun-ming Chen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
This invention relates to a method for detecting the existence or measuring the concentration of total viable bacteria in a test sample from a food product. A medium is provided which contains three or more different enzyme substrates each having a nutrient moiety and a detectable moiety linked together. When a substrate is hydrolyzed by a bacterial enzyme to create a separate detectable moiety, it causes or produces a detectable signal. These substrates produce detectable signals when any one of a phosphatase enzyme, a glycosidase enzyme or a peptidase enzyme is present in the medium.
Claims41
A method for detecting the presence or measuring the concentration of bacteria in a food product, comprising the steps of:
- providing a bacterial growth medium formulated for food testing, which comprises a first enzyme substrate for a phosphatase, a second enzyme substrate for a glycosidase, and a third enzyme substrate for a peptidase, wherein said first, second and third enzyme substrates cause or produce an identical type of detectable signal when hydrolyzed by their respective enzymes;
- inoculating said medium with said food product and incubating said medium under conditions suitable for bacterial growth for a period of time;
- and,
- detecting or measuring the identical type of detectable signal as an indication of the presence or the concentration of bacteria in said food product.
A method for detecting the presence or measuring the concentration of bacteria in a food product, comprising the steps of:
- providing a bacterial growth medium formulated for food testing, which comprises a first enzyme substrate for a glycosidase and a second enzyme substrate for a peptidase, wherein said first and second enzyme substrates cause or produce an identical type of detectable signal when hydrolyzed by their respective enzymes;
- inoculating said medium with said food product and incubating said medium under conditions suitable for bacterial growth for a period of time;
- and,
- detecting or measuring the identical type of detectable signal as an indication of the presence or the concentration of bacteria in said food product.
A bacterial growth medium formulated for food testing, comprising a first enzyme substrate for a phosphatase, a second enzyme substrate for a glycosidase, and a third enzyme substrate for a peptidase, wherein said first, second and third enzyme substrates cause or produce an identical type of detectable signal when hydrolyzed by their respective enzymes.
A bacterial growth medium formulated for food testing, comprising a first enzyme substrate for a glycosidase and a second enzyme substrate for a peptidase, wherein said first and second enzyme substrates cause or produce an identical type of detectable signal when hydrolyzed by their respective enzymes.
A method for detecting the presence or measuring the concentration of eukaryotic microbes in a food product, comprising the steps of:
- providing a growth medium formulated for food testing, which comprises a first enzyme substrate for a phosphatase, a second enzyme substrate for a glycosidase, and a third enzyme substrate for a peptidase wherein said first, second and third enzyme substrates cause or produce an identical type of detectable signal when hydrolyzed by their respective enzymes;
- inoculating said medium with said food product and incubating said medium under conditions suitable for microbial growth for a period of time;
- and,
- detecting or measuring the identical type of detectable signal as an indication of the presence or the concentration of eukaryotic microbes in said food product.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.