Application of flow cytometry to rapid microbial analysis in food and drinks industries.

In food and drinks industries, the time required for conventional tests can lead to substantial delays in product release to the market. Flow cytometry (FCM) has been used in conjunction with viability markers for rapid counting of yeast, mould and bacterial cells in food products. A single-parameter flow cytometer has proved applicable to the rapid detection of low numbers of microbial contaminants in finished products. The excellent correlation between FCM results and product quality shelf-life expiry date has allowed the establishment of realistic quality control criteria for rapid positive release of product. Used for the monitoring of microbial biomass during manufacturing processes, flow cytometry allowed a direct assessment of bacterial growth. The reproducibility of the results and the proven correlation with standard plate count method obtained in industrial conditions make FCM a good predictive method for product and process quality control.