Rapid detection of sublethally impaired cells of Enterobacteriaceae in dried foods.

Samples of dried foods, feeds, and drugs were examined for Enterobacteriaceae by using buffered glucose-Brilliant Green-bile broth as the final enrichment medium and deep tubes of violet-red-bile-glucose-agar for confirmation. The pre-enrichment treatments used for the resuscitation of sublethally impaired cells were overnight incubation in lactose broth versus incubation for 1 to 6 hr at room temperature in shallow layers of tryptone soya peptone broth. The latter restoration treatment appeared to be significantly more productive.