FAQ's

Health Info

Home

Testing

Microbiology

GuaranTek Analytical Labs provides a full range of food testing services that can be tailored to meet your needs, production schedules and budget.  We can provide testing from beginning to end product, including rapid pathogen screening, as well as environmental monitoring services as needed.  All results are strictly confidential.  Please contact us for pricing and test availability.
    These tests for indicator organisms can show levels of growth, which in turn can indicate the quality or cleanliness of either product or sanitation.

Indicator Organisms

• Total Aerobic Plate Count
  Aerobic Plate Counts of food are used as an indication of product freshness .  As counts rise, the product nears spoilage, which is about 1 million colony forming units per gram of food (cfu/g)
• Generic Escherichia coli Count
  Generic E. coli counts can show evidence of potential fecal contamination.
• Total Coliform Count
  Coliform counts are another indication of spoilage.  Coliforms are naturally found in soil, so are not used as an indicator of fecal contamination.  This group of bacteria can act as a sign post-process contamination.
• Lactic Acid Bacteria
  Anaerobic Plate Counts and Lactic Acid Producing Bacteria counts are helpful if the product is vacuum packaged or when other low oxygen atmospheres are employed.  These bacteria can out-compete bacteria that normally grow in the presence of oxygen.
• Yeast and mold counts
  Yeasts and Molds can cause spoilage and off-flavors in foods.
• Staphylococcus aureus
  Staphylococcus aureus is used as an indicator of human contamination.  It is a bacteria normally found on human skin.

Pathogenic Organisms

• E. coli 0157:H7 (various approved methods)
• Salmonella
• Listeria monocytogenes
• Listeria species
• Campylobacter
  
  Pathogen screening services are qualitative in nature.  The presence of pathogens in food products can lead to food borne illness if the product is mishandled prior to consumption.  Our pathogen screening services utilize state of the art Qualicon BAX Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) system, Enzyme Linked Immunoassay (ELISA), as well as traditional methods that allow for rapid turnaround times and accuarate results.  All rapid and classical methods are AOAC or USDA-FSIS approved.

Other Tests Available

• E. Coli 0157:H7 Confirmation
• Staphylococcal Enterotoxin
• Shelf life studies