ISO 6888-1 Microbiology of the Food Chain - Horizontal Method for Enumeration of Coagulase Positive Staphylococci (Staphylococcus Aureus and Other Species) - Part 1: Method Using Baird-Parker Agar Medium

The ISO 6888-1 standard, developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), describes a horizontal method for counting coagulase positive staphylococci by counting and confirming colonies obtained on a solid medium (Baird-Parker medium) after aerobic incubation at 34°C to 38°C.

This standard applies to:

• Products for human consumption
• Products for animal feeding
• Environmental samples in food and feed production, processing and fields
• Examples from the primary production stage

This horizontal method was originally developed for the examination of all samples belonging to the food chain. However, due to the wide variety of products in the food chain, it is possible that this horizontal method is not suitable for all products in every detail. However, it is expected that the necessary changes will be minimized so that this does not result in a significant deviation from the horizontal method.

Based on the information available at the time of publication of this standard, this method is likely to contaminate fermented products or other products containing technological flora based on staphylococcus spp., for example cheese made from raw milk and some raw meat products, with:

• Staphylococci forming atypical colonies on Baird-Parker agar
• Background flora that can hide wanted colonies

For the purposes of this standard,

• Coagulase-positive staphylococci refer to bacteria that form typical or atypical colonies or both on the surface of a selective culture medium (Baird-Parker agar medium) and show a positive coagulase reaction in a tube test or on rabbit plasma fibrinogen agar.
• Counting of coagulase-positive staphylococci refers to the determination of the number of coagulase-positive staphylococci per gram, milliliter, square centimeter, or sampling device/sample area.

Our organization, among the numerous tests, measurements, analyses, and evaluations it provides for businesses in various sectors, also offers testing services in accordance with the ISO 6888-1 standard, using Baird-Parker agar medium and a horizontal method suitable for the microbiology of the food chain and the enumeration of coagulase-positive staphylococci (Staphylococcus aureus and other species), with its trained and expert staff and advanced technological equipment.