P. Kotzekidou, A MICROTITRE TRAY PROCEDURE FOR A SIMPLIFIED IDENTIFICATION OF BACILLUS SPP IN SPOILED CANNED FOODS, Food microbiology, 13(1), 1996, pp. 35-40
Bacillus species are often responsible for spoilage of canned foods be
cause of their heat-resistant spores. A simplified identification sche
me of Bacillus spp. using five morphological characteristics and 27 ph
ysiological and biochemical properties was elaborated. The incorporati
on of the tests into the wells of a microtitre tray facilitates the ap
plication in the canning industry. Using the simplified identification
scheme, 115 strains of bacilli isolated from spoiled canned foods as
well as seven reference strains could be identified. There was good co
rrelation between the standard procedure and the microtitre tray metho
d for all strains tested. Most of the isolated strains belonged to the
species Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus megaterium and Bacillus brevis. (
C) 1996 Academic Press Limited.