title: TEMPO EC for the enumeration of Escherichia coli in foods: collaborative study.
abstract: The automated method for enumeration of Escherichia coli, TEMPO EC, in foods uses a dehydrated culture medium and enumeration card containing 48 wells across three different dilutions for the automatic determination of the most probable number (MPN). The alternative method was compared in a multilaboratory collaborative study to AOAC Official Method 966.24. Six food types were artificially contaminated with E. coli: raw ground beef, bagged lettuce, cooked chicken, pasteurized crabmeat, frozen green beans, and pasteurized whole milk. All foods were analyzed for E. coli counts by 11 collaborating laboratories throughout the United States. Test portions from the six food types each contaminated at four different contamination levels were evaluated. The study demonstrated that the TEMPO EC method is a reliable, automated assay for the enumeration of E. coli in foods.
authors.affiliation: Q Laboratories, Inc., 1400 Harrison Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45214, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bird
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Torontali
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Goetz
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Agin
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Goins
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Achen
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barlowe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Colón-Reveles
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hanson
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jechorek
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kohler
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kondratko
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kupski
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McCallum
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mohnke
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sauter
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001331:Automation; D002417:Cattle; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial / Q000379:methods*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000378:metabolism*; D005504:Food Analysis; D005506:Food Contamination; D005516:Food Microbiology; D007753:Laboratories / Q000592:standards; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012107:Research Design; D017747:Seafood / Q000382:microbiology; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology