Comparison of plating and most probable number techniques for the isolation of staphylococci from foods

A note on the isolation of Staphylococcus aureus from raw minced meat

Conventional Baird-Parker medium (BP) and three modified BP-type media were tested for their suitability to detect and to enumerate Staphylococcus aureus in raw minced meat. BP with pig plasma gave the most rapid results without the need for extensive confirmatory tests. A method which combined a liquid modification of BP medium with BP agar supplemented with acriflavine, polymyxin and sulphamezathine, was cheaper, more sensitive, and did not necessitate additional identification. Conventional BP incubated at 37 degrees and 43 degrees C yielded less satisfactory results.

Liquid modification of Baird-Parker's medium for selective enrichment of Staphylococcus aureus

A liquid modification of Baird-Parker's medium is suggested for the detection of low (less than 20/g) numbers of Staphylococcus aureus. Model experiments showed that the medium had an acceptable level of selectivity and that it was non-inhibitory to injured cells. Practical evaluation demonstrated the advantage of selective enrichment procedures over both non-selective enrichment technique and direct plating methods.