Product Overview

The FSTest™ Lactic Acid Bacteria Count Plate (Gel-type) is a pre-prepared disposable culture medium product engineered to revolutionize microbiological testing in the dairy and beverage industries. Designed specifically to meet the rigorous demands of quality control laboratories, this advanced diagnostic tool eliminates the cumbersome, time-consuming processes associated with traditional agar preparation. It provides a streamlined, highly efficient solution for the rapid enumeration of lactic acid bacteria, ensuring your probiotic products meet the highest standards of quality and regulatory compliance.

Core Product Features & Technical Advantages

This testing solution relies on advanced biochemical indicators to simplify the entire colony counting workflow, guaranteeing precise data even in complex dairy matrices:

Ø Innovative Scientific Formulation: The main components of this advanced plate include a selective culture medium, a pH indicator, a specific chromogenic substrate, and a cold-water-soluble absorbent gel.

Ø Optimized Growth Environment: The incorporated selective culture medium provides a highly suitable growth environment specifically tailored for lactic acid bacteria.

Ø Exceptional Sensitivity: Ensures strict adherence to food safety and quality standards, with an ultra-low limit of detection of 1 CFU/g(mL).

Ø Clear Chromogenic Detection: During incubation, the β-galactosidase produced by lactic acid bacteria hydrolyzes the specific chromogenic substrate. This biochemical reaction forms distinct blue-green colonies for easy visual identification.

Ø Acid-Production Visualization: The built-in pH indicator intuitively reflects the acid-producing ability of bacteria, realizing dual verification of target colonies and improving detection accuracy.

Ø Unambiguous Result Interpretation: Positive lactic acid bacteria colonies present stable blue-green spots (with or without yellow halos), featuring obvious color differentiation and no ambiguous results, which lowers the threshold for technician operation.

Exclusive Core Application Scenarios

The FSTest™ Lactic Acid Bacteria Count Plate is specially developed for the rapid enumeration of lactic acid bacteria in lactic acid-fermented foods and probiotic-added foods. It is professionally optimized for the core production and quality control links of the dairy and beverage industry, with key application scenarios as follows:

1. Yogurt Quality Control & Live Culture Enumeration

The texture, flavor and nutritional efficacy of yogurt are closely dependent on the activity of starter cultures. This count plate is applicable to routine batch testing of set yogurt, stirred yogurt and drinking yogurt. By accurately counting viable lactic acid bacteria, dairy manufacturers can effectively monitor fermentation endpoints, and ensure that the viable count of products within the shelf life complies with industry specifications and product probiotic labeling claims.

2. Lactic Acid Bacteria Beverage Monitoring

It is specially designed for active probiotic drinks and fermented milk beverages. Manufacturers can apply these gel-type count plates for rapid sampling and detection at critical control points (CCPs) such as fermentation, blending and bottling processes. It stably monitors the survival rate and viable concentration of probiotic strains, ensuring finished product quality compliance and stable batch consistency before products reach the market.

Streamlined Testing Protocol & Incubation Guidelines

The testing procedure is simple and adaptable to various dairy and beverage sample matrices, with standardized operation and incubation specifications:

1. Efficient Inoculation Operation

u Pipette 1mL of sample solution and add it to the center of the circular inoculation area of the plate.

u Slowly cover the top film to avoid air bubbles, and use a spreader to evenly spread the sample solution over the entire inoculation area.

u Place the plate still for no less than 10 seconds to allow the medium to fully solidify.

2. Incubation Specifications

u Stacking Requirement: Place the plates upward horizontally in the incubator, with a maximum stacking quantity of 20 plates at a time to ensure uniform temperature conduction.

u Aerobic Incubation (for samples without strict anaerobes, e.g. Bifidobacterium): Incubate at 36±1°C under aerobic conditions for 24–48 hours.

u Anaerobic Combined Incubation (for samples containing strict anaerobes, e.g. Bifidobacterium): Incubate anaerobically at 36±1°C for 24 hours, then transfer to aerobic conditions for another 24 hours of incubation.

3. Standardized Colony Counting Rules

u Priority selection: Choose plates with 30–300 colonies for counting to ensure statistical validity of data.

u Over-density sample calculation: If colonies are too dense for direct counting, select multiple representative small grids, calculate the average colony number per grid, and multiply by 28 to obtain the total colony number of the whole plate.

u Result calculation: Multiply the total counted colonies by the sample dilution factor to calculate the viable lactic acid bacteria content per gram (milliliter) of the sample.

u Result presentation: The final data is reported in CFU/g or CFU/mL.

Specifications, Storage & Laboratory Safety Guidelines

Kit Specifications

Each box contains 25 test plates, fully meeting the daily routine testing demand of laboratories.

Storage & Transportation Requirements

Ø Short-term transportation & storage: The product can be stored and transported at room temperature within 15 days.

Ø Long-term storage: After 15 days or upon arrival, store in a refrigerator at 2–10°C with a shelf life of 18 months.

Ø Post-opening storage: After opening the package, seal the unused plates in the original aluminum foil bag, store at 2–10°C, and use up within one month.

Laboratory Safety & Waste Disposal

After use, the FSTest™ Lactic Acid Bacteria Count Plate (Gel-type) shall be classified and disposed of timely in accordance with laboratory biosafety waste management specifications to avoid biological safety hazards.