Microbial Detection
Water municipalities need to verify their production, disinfection, and distribution systems are delivering microbiologically safe, potable drinking water. Food producers need to be sure the water they add, use to wash, and process their products is safe.
Charm provides rapid indicator tests for bacteria and viruses associated with fecal contamination including coliform, Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and coliphages. Both Charm products detect a single coliform and/or E. coli bacteria in a 100-mL water sample in 48 hours or less.
Peel Plate Microbial Tests
Peel Plate bacterial tests are simplified culture methods for detecting micro-organisms. Each test contains non-selective or selective medium and follows conventional microbiologic procedures for time and temperature of incubation. An air gap between the plate and cover allows colony picking and determination of microbial morphology. Charm offers Peel Plate tests for aerobic bacteria (Peel Plate AC), coliform (Peel Plate CC), Enterobacteriaceae (Peel Plate EB), E. coli/coliform (Peel Plate EC), lactic acid bacteria (Peel Plate LAB), Pseudomonas (Peel Plate PS), Staphylococcus Aureus (Peel Plate SA), Yeast and Mold (Peel Plate YM), and Yeast (Peel Plate Y) for use in dairy products, ground meats, other foods, contact surfaces and water. AOAC-RI has granted Performance Tested MethodsSM certification to Peel Plate AC, EC, SA, and YM tests. Additionally, Peel Plate EB has AOAC-OMA and MicroVal harmonized certification.
PathoGel
PathoGel is a single use, self-contained test with selective medium designed to detect coliform, E. coli and hydrogen sulfide producing enterobacteriaceae (e.g., salmonella, citrobacter) in food, beverages and waters.
PathoGel contains a special “gelling” agent that allows quantitation of colony forming units as well as presence/ absence determination.
E*Colite
The Charm E*Colite test is used to screen water, foods, and juices for coliform and Escherichia coli. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved “bag” test provides a positive or negative result in 28 hours for coliform and 28 to 48 hours for E. coli in compliance with the Total Coliform Rule. The “vial” test provides a positive or negative result in 24 hours for coliform and 24 to 28 hours for E. coli.
Fast Phage PA
Fast Phage PA qualitatively detects as little as one coliphage per 100 mL water sample. The presence or absence of coliphage in ground water is considered a fecal contamination indicator. The Fast Phage PA method gives an early warning indicator in eight hours—enabling same-day remediation. Confirmation is available in 16 hours—much sooner than traditional methods.