Microbiological Fact Sheet

Description Heterotrophic Plate Count (Pour Plate Method)
Method SM9215B
Method Summary A 1 mL aliquot of sample is distributed evenly in a petri dish and combined with melted plate count agar. This analysis is done in duplicate for all samples. Both petri dishes are incubated for 48 hours at 35°C. After their respective incubation times, heterotrophic bacteria are enumerated. The two enumerations are then averaged to obtain a final result.

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Scope and Application The heterotrophic plate count is useful in enumerating bacteria in water and measuring changes during water treatment and distribution.
Heterotrophic Bacteria Organism HPC measures a range of bacteria that are naturally present in the environment. HPC has no health effects; it is an analytic method used to measure all bacteria that are common in water. The lower the concentration of bacteria in drinking water, the better maintained the water system is.
Result Interpretation CFU/1 mL = Colony Forming Units in 1 mL of Sample



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