New Chromogenic Coliform Agar (ISO) for Water Testing Offers Easy to Read Results in Samples with Low Level Bacterial Contamination

BASINGSTOKE, England–(BUSINESS WIRE)–To help microbiology laboratories comply with the EU Core Directive for Quality of Water for Human Use (98/83/CE) and have confidence in reporting accurate results, the new Thermo Scientific Chromogenic Coliform Agar (CCA) (ISO) formulation is compliant with the ISO9308-1:2014 standard, cited in the Directive, and is easy to read because of the large colony size produced and vibrant coloration of the target organisms.

The ISO9308-1:2014 standard specifies a simple method for the enumeration of Escherichia coli (E. coli) and coliform bacteria that is based on membrane filtration followed by culture on a chromogenic coliform agar medium and the calculation of the number of target organisms in the sample. The method is designed for water samples with low bacterial numbers i.e. fewer than 100 total colonies, on the chromogenic coliform agar. E. coli produces dark blue to violet coloured colonies, and coliforms red to pink coloured colonies.

The medium has been quality tested in accordance with ISO11133:2014 standard, which describes the requirements for the preparation, production, storage and performance testing of culture media.

“We are delighted to provide this new ISO compliant culture medium that produces such distinctive and easy to read results,” says Simon Walker, senior director of product management and global marketing, microbiology, Thermo Fisher Scientific. “Laboratories using Thermo Scientific CCA (ISO) for testing water samples with low bacterial numbers can be confident that results will be easy to read and interpret.”

The Thermo Scientific Chromogenic Coliform Agar (ISO) is available in a choice of 500g dehydrated media packs and prepared plates in packs of ten, with a choice of 90mm and 55mm plates.

Thermo Fisher Scientific offers a broad selection of high quality culture media for food and water, clinical, pharmaceutical and veterinary based applications. Our base culture media, supplements, special blends, including a wide range of animal-free formulations and ready-prepared plates and convenience format media, are tested for quality and performance before, during, and after manufacturing to make sure the finished product meets the microbiology laboratory’s testing needs.

Find out more by visiting www.thermofisher.com/cca-agar

About Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of $18 billion and more than 55,000 employees globally. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands – Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services – we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive support. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.