scope:

This Technical Specification specifies a horizontal method for the enumeration of ß-glucuronidase-positive Escherichia coli, by means of the liquid-medium culture technique and calculation of the most probable number (MPN) after incubation at 37 °C, then at 44 °C. This Technical Specification is applicable to . products intended for human consumption and the feeding of animals, and . environmental samples in the area of food production and food handling. The method is suitable for the enumeration of cells of Escherichia coli that may have been subjected to stress arising from dehydration, freezing, exposure to a saline (such as marine) environment or damage by disinfectants such as chlorine-containing products. A limitation of the applicability of this Technical Specification is imposed by the susceptibility of the method to a large degree of variability. The method is to be applied and the results interpreted in the light of the information given in Clause 11. WARNING - Strains of Escherichia coli that do not grow at 44 °C and, in particular, those that are â-glucuronidase negative, such as Escherichia coli O157 and some other strains of pathogenic E. coli, will not be detected by the method described in this Technical Specification.