Laboratory methods
Culture, enrichment, extraction, confirmation, WGS and MALDI-TOF.
7 articles
Articles in this pillar
8 min read
MALDI-TOF in food microbiology: how an isolate is identified in minutes
How MALDI-TOF identifies microorganisms, what role it plays in confirming pathogens in food, how it is validated and what its limits are.
6 min read
Traditional microbiological culture: why it remains the reference method
How plate culture works, why many regulatory frameworks still require it as the reference, and how it differs from PCR.
5 min read
Microbiological enrichment: the stage that decides whether a pathogen is detected
What enrichment is in food microbiology, why it is key to detecting pathogens at low concentrations, and how it affects total analysis time.
6 min read
Nucleic acid extraction: the invisible step before any PCR
What nucleic acid extraction is, why its quality determines the success of a PCR, and which inhibitors a complex matrix can carry along.
7 min read
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) for outbreaks: the new standard in epidemiological surveillance
What whole genome sequencing (WGS) is and how it is used to link cases from the same foodborne outbreak occurring in different places or at different times.
8 min read
Presumptive vs. confirmed result: what happens in the laboratory after a positive
What a presumptive result is, why a PCR screening positive must be confirmed, how confirmation is done according to the FDA and ISO 16140, and what to do in the meantime.
11 min read
Most Probable Number (MPN): how it works, how to read its tables and when to use it instead of the plate count
How the Most Probable Number (MPN) works, how to read the 3- and 5-tube tables of the FDA BAM, its confidence intervals and when it is preferable to CFU counts.