This is a completely revised edition, including new material, from 'Culture Media for Food Microbiology' by J.E.L. Corry et al., published in Progress in Industrial Microbiology, Volume 34, Second Impression 1999.

Written by the Working Party on Culture Media, of the International Committee on Food Microbiology and Hygiene, this is a handy reference for microbiologists wanting to know which media to use for the detection of various groups of microbes in food, and how to check their performance.

The first part comprises reviews, written by international experts, of the media designed to isolate the major groups of microbes important in food spoilage, food fermentations or food-borne disease. The history and rationale of the selective agents, and the indicator systems are considered, as well as the relative merits of the various media. The second part contains monographs on approximately 90 of the most useful media.

The first edition of this book has been frequently quoted in standard methods, especially those published by the International Standards Organisation (ISO) and the European Standards Organisation (CEN), as well as in the manuals of companies manufacturing microbiological media. In this second edition, almost all of the reviews have been completely rewritten, and the remainder revised. Approximately twelve monographs have been added and a few deleted. This book will be useful to anyone working in laboratories examining food - industrial, contract, medical, academic or public analyst, as well as other microbiologists, working in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and clinical (medical and veterinary) areas - particularly with respect to quality assurance of media and methods in relation to laboratory accreditation.

This is the highly anticipated third edition of a book written by the Working Party on Culture Media of the International Committee on Food Microbiology and Hygiene. It is a handy reference for microbiologists wanting to know which media to use for the detection of various groups of microbes in foods and how to check the performance of the media. The book is divided into two parts and concentrates on media for water as well as food microbes - selecting those which have been evaluated and shown to function optimally. The first part consists of a series of chapters written by various experts from all over the world, reviewing the media designed to detect the major groups of microbes important in food spoilage, food fermentations and food-borne disease. The history and rationale of the selective agents and indicator systems used, as well as the relative merits of the various media are surveyed by reference to the scientific literature. The second part contains monographs on almost 100 of the media considered most useful. Each monograph, written in the style of a pharmacopoeia, includes: a short section on the history and selective principle of the medium; a method for its preparation from basic ingredients; its appearance and physical properties, including pH; its shelf-life; instructions concerning method of inoculation, incubation and interpretation; the recommended method(s) and a list of test strains suitable for assessing the quality (productivity and selectivity) of the medium and a description of the typical appearance of the target organism.