Surface analysis

Contact plates

Contact plates are small raised agar plates that are pressed directly onto a flat surface, seeding them with the microorganisms at that location. The plates are then incubated and the resulting colonies are counted. The result indicates a relative measure of how many viable microorganisms are found on that surface, including those that have accumulated from the air or survivors of the cleaning process. While most commonly used for yeast and mold enumeration or bacterial counts, different media can be used to monitor specific microorganisms such as Staphylococcus species, total coliforms or Escherichia coli.

Yeast and Mold = $15

Aerobic bacteria = $15

Both Yeast and Mold plate and Aerobic bacteria = $25/pair

Differential/other - $20

Surface swabs

Consisting of a sterile swab in a liquid neutralizing broth, surface swabs offer a way to collect microorganisms from a surface to evaluate their numbers. The surface does not need to be flat, unlike contact plates. Several dilutions of the sample can be plated which is useful for surfaces that are to be kept clean but not necessarily sterile.

Often used for yeast and mold enumeration or bacterial loads, the sample can be plated on other differential media for more targeted investigations.

Yeast and Mold = $45

Aerobic bacteria = $45

Total coliform/E. coli = $45

All 3 tests = $120