Methods for the indication of coliform bacteria and E. coli in meat

The article presents an overview of the methods for detecting coliform bacteria, including E. coli. This group of microorganisms is one of the main normalized indicators for assessing the quality of food products of animal origin. The analysis of the microbiological studies of samples of chilled beef showed that, when determining the presence of coliform bacteria in samples using traditional and innovative methods of analysis, the results do not differ significantly. To differentiate enterobacteria, the Endo medium and the selective agarized chromogenic medium Chromocult Coliform Agar (Merck, Germany) were used. The amount of coliform bacteria in 1 cm3 of meat products varied from 0.3×102 to 1.6×102-1.8×102 CFU/cm3.When microcopying the swipe sample, rod bacteria with rounded ends were found in all the samples, which resulted gram-negative. When growing on the Endo agar, red-colored colonies with a metallic luster were noted, while on the chromogenic medium purple-colored colonies were observed. The tests allowed for the identification on the samples of microorganisms which are representatives of the following genera: Escherichia , Enterobacter , Citrobacter . The use of innovative methods of analysis allowed reducing the labor costs spent on the preparation of the media, as well as eliminating the stages of the confirming biochemical tests thanks to the use of nutrient media with markers of specific enzymatic activity.