Evaluation of the 3M Petrifilm^™ Culture Plate Method for Enumerating Aerobic Flora and Coliforms in Poultry...

Petrifilm^™ methods were compared to traditional plating methods for monitoring microbial contamination in poultry processing facilities. No differences were seen between the Petrifilm methods and conventional method for enumeration of total bacterial populations, and no trends were seen in the ability of either method to detect coliforms in naturally contaminated samples. When processed poultry products were artificially inoculated with a variety of microorganisms, no difference in efficiency of recovery of the bacteria was noted. The Petrifilm methods were shown to be a practical and accurate alternative for monitoring microbial levels in poultry processing facilities.