Merck Millipore's Chromocult® Coliform Agar Established as Basis for New ISO® Standard for Enumeration of E. coli and Coliforms in Water Samples
-- Only product validated by ISO® for enumeration of E. coli and coliforms in water samples with low background flora
-- Enumeration results delivered in 24 hours, and up to 100% reduction over existing methods
-- Demonstrates Merck Millipore's deep expertise and leadership in microbial detection
DARMSTADT, Germany, Nov. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Merck Millipore, the Life Science division of Merck, announces that Merck Millipore's Chromocult® Coliform Agar (CCA) has been used by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO®) as the only suitable culture medium to develop a revised standard for enumerating coliform bacteria and E. coli in water samples to replace Lactose TTC agar. The completely revised ISO® 9308-1 standard came into effect on Sept 16th, 2014.
"Detection of potential pathogens in water is a critical function for a company to manage quality control microbiological workflow and essential for reducing the risk of contamination and ensuring consumer safety," said John Sweeney, Head of Lab Solutions, Merck Millipore. "We are proud that our Chromocult® Coliform Agar is the only culture medium to meet the more stringent ISO® 9308-1 requirements. It is a testament to expertise and leadership in microbial detection and commitment to offering the most innovative products."
Merck Millipore's CCA is available as a dehydrated culture medium and ready-to-use agar plate. CCA, which has been available for more than ten years, is also approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, for detection and enumeration of E.coli and coliform bacteria in water.
CCA is based on enzymatic reactions that distinctly color the colonies of the target organisms. CCA's simultaneous detection of coliform bacteria and E. coli provides earlier results as well as easier lab procedures and colony identification improves the testing of samples with low background flora such as drinking water, disinfected pool water and finished water from drinking water treatment plants – and thus helps to combat waterborne pathogens. Using the fully validated Chromocult® Coliform Agar, the original culture medium from Merck Millipore on which the new standard is based, can make the transition easier for laboratories.
Merck Millipore's EZ-Pak® membrane filters and Bactident® Oxidase strips, which are used to confirm coliform bacteria, were included in the validation process. The combination of these filter and strips, along with the CCA media provide a validated approach for detecting and enumerating E.coli and coliform bacteria in water samples. Using this method will enable food and beverage laboratories and water treatment plants to reduce their own extensive, time-consuming validation processes. In addition, the new method will provide quicker time-to-results and allow municipal water supplies to be released and food and beverage products to reach market sooner.
CCA offers significant benefits over the previous Lactose TTC agar method. The medium enables the simultaneous detection, differentiation and enumeration of E.coli and coliform bacteria in water within 24 hours, which speeds time-to-result by a full day when compared to Lactose TTC agar. Unlike Lactose TTC agar, handling of CCA involves very few steps and no further complex lab handling. Additionally, the product is based on enzymatic reactions that distinctly color the colonies of target organisms, providing easier data interpretation.
Alternative methods exist, which also provide results in 24 hours, but are significantly more expensive than CCA. Additionally, CCA enables rapid subsequent identification of growth colonies in case of questionable results, which is very difficult using other methods. Merck Millipore's CCA does not require additional culture media for result confirmation, further reducing laboratory costs.
Merck Millipore is the only supplier with products available for the entire detection and enumeration process of water samples. CCA can be used in combination with Merck Millipore's EZ-product family, which is designed to facilitate the microbiological workflow in municipal water and food and beverage laboratories. Products include:
- EZ-Fit™ Manifold: allows access to all internal areas of the manifold to ensure the filtration process is contamination-free
- EZ-Pak® Dispenser Curve: high-speed, sterile membrane dispensing with no-touch operation
- EZ-Pak® Membranes: enables less frequent reloading and covers a wide variety of applications
- EZ-Stream™ Pump: noise-reduced, direct transfer of liquids to eliminate repeated handling of liquid waste containers
Additional Resources
For more information about Chromocult® Coliform Agar click here
To download high resolution images of Chromocult® Coliform Agar click here
About Merck Millipore
Merck Millipore is the Life Science division of Merck and offers a broad range of innovative, performance products, services and business relationships that enable our customers' success in research, development and production of biotech and pharmaceutical drug therapies. Through dedicated collaboration on new scientific and engineering insights, and as one of the top three R&D investors in the Life Science Tools industry, Merck Millipore serves as a strategic partner to customers and helps advance the promise of life science. Headquartered in Billerica, Massachusetts, the division has around 10,000 employees, operations in 66 countries and 2013 revenues of €2.6 billion. Merck Millipore operates as EMD Millipore in the U.S. and Canada.
For more information, please visit www.merckmillipore.com.
About Merck
Merck is a leading company for innovative and top-quality high-tech products in the pharmaceutical and chemical sectors. With its four divisions Merck Serono, Consumer Health, Performance Materials and Merck Millipore, Merck generated total revenues of € 11.1 billion in 2013. Around 39,000 Merck employees work in 66 countries to improve the quality of life for patients, to further the success of customers and to help meet global challenges. Merck is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company – since 1668, the company has stood for innovation, business success and responsible entrepreneurship. Holding an approximately 70 percent interest, the founding family remains the majority owner of the company to this day. Merck, Darmstadt, Germany is holding the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are Canada and the United States, where the company is known as EMD.
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