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P2-109 A Comparative Evaluation of the bioMérieux™ TEMPO® AC for the Enumeration of Total Viable Count in a Variety of Foods

Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Exhibit Hall (Charlotte Convention Center)
Erin Crowley, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Patrick Bird, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Travis Huffman, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Jonathan Flannery, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
James Agin, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
David Goins, Q Laboratories, Inc., Cincinnati, OH
Introduction: The TEMPO AC (Aerobic Count) is an automated method for the enumeration of viable aerobic mesophilic flora in food products and environmental samples in a minimum of 22 hours.  The test system consists of a vial of culture medium and a test card.  The culture medium is inoculated with the sample to be analyzed and transferred into the test card containing 48 wells across 3 different volumes.  The microorganisms in the card reduce the substrate in the culture medium during incubation causing a fluorescent signal to appear, which is detected by the TEMPO reader. The system enumerates the number of microorganisms present according to a calculation based on the Most Probable Number (MPN) method.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare the candidate method to the AOAC 966.23 method for the enumeration of total viable aerobic microorganisms in raw ground beef, fresh tomatoes, and stainless steel environmental surfaces.  The method was also compared to the Standard Method for the Examination of Dairy Products (SMEDP) for pasteurized whole milk.

Methods: The new method and reference methods were evaluated by analyzing 3 food matrices and 1 environmental surface at 3 levels of natural contamination.  The test portions were analyzed by the candidate method after 22 hours of incubation and by the reference methods after 48 hours of incubation. 

Results: Statistical analysis was conducted using the Probability of Detection (POD) statistical model with no significant difference between candidate method and the AOAC 966.23 method observed in 7 of the 9 lots tested.  There was no significant difference between the candidate method and the SMEDP for all 3 lots analyzed.

Significance: The product demonstrated reliability as a rapid, automated enumeration method for total viable count in foods and environmental surfaces by providing results in 22 hours compared to 48 hours for traditional methods.

Back to: Poster Session 2 - Pathogens, Antimicrobials
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