TraditionalREF 610300
Organism · Solutions
Lactobacillus testing
Lactobacillus sits on both sides of the ledger — a starter culture to be enumerated and verified in fermented products, and a spoilage organism to be excluded from everything else.
Small opaque colonies · MRS agar
Why Lactobacillus testing is demanding
Whether Lactobacillus is desirable depends entirely on the product. In yoghurt, fermented dairy and cultured products it is the starter culture, and testing verifies that it is present at the level the process and any probiotic claim require.
In beer, juice, soft drinks and non-fermented foods the same organism is a spoilage risk — acid-tolerant, capable of growing where most bacteria cannot, and responsible for souring and haze. The brewing sector in particular treats it as a primary spoilage target.
Enumeration on MRS agar under anaerobic or microaerobic conditions serves both purposes. The interpretation inverts between them: a count that confirms a healthy starter culture in one product is a rejection criterion in another, so the specification has to state which role applies.
- Role
- Starter · spoilage
- Result type
- Enumeration
- Reference method
- ISO 15214
- Result
- 48–72 h
Methods compared
The same count, read two opposite ways — confirm which applies before testing.
- Traditional · ISO 15214MRS enumeration
Colony-count technique on MRS agar at 30 °C under reduced oxygen. The reference method for mesophilic lactic acid bacteria.
Time to result48–72 h - RapidReady-to-use plates
Ready-poured MRS formats for routine starter verification and spoilage screening without media preparation.
Time to result48 h - Molecular · PCRStrain identification
PCR-based identification where a probiotic claim names a specific strain, or where a spoilage investigation needs the organism identified beyond genus.
Time to resultSame day
State whether the count is a specification minimum or a rejection threshold.
Ask usProducts for Lactobacillus testing
A selection spanning culture media, rapid formats and molecular assays. The full range is in the catalogue.
Standards & compliance
The references a Lactobacillus programme is measured against.
- ISO 15214
- Horizontal method for the enumeration of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria — colony-count technique at 30 °C.
- ISO 7889
- Yoghurt — enumeration of characteristic microorganisms, where a starter culture level must be verified.
- SFDA
- Supplied through an SFDA-licensed establishment, aligned to Kingdom requirements for the matrices you test.
- ISO/IEC 17025
- Suitable for accredited laboratories, with lot documentation and traceability available on request.
Sourced from the brands your methods are built on.
Testing for Lactobacillus?
Tell us your matrix and how fast you need a release decision — we'll recommend the method and respond with pricing, availability and lead time.