The world of microbiology is divided into two camps: those who love electronic micropipettes and those who… dig in love manual micropipettes. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. To help you pick a side, we’ve listed them for you. The Manual Pipette As the name suggests, the manual micropipette is operated manually by the […]
In the microbiology lab, we all know how to use a micropipette, but do we really know how it works? For years, we’ve just called it a “micropipette.” But after chatting with some experts, we learned its proper name is actually “air-cushion micropipette.” To be fair, “air-cushion micropipette” is a bit of a mouthful, isn’t […]
BPW (Buffered Peptone Water) is an enrichment broth (or diluent) used in most food microbiology laboratories. When we started writing this article, we thought, “BPW is BPW—they’re all the same! Plus, with supplier certificates of analysis and ISO 11133 tests, there’s no risk.” Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who thought that: Well, we were […]
Summary of this article (for those in a hurry 😁): Ready-to-use (RTU) culture media bags in food microbiology offer a quick and convenient solution. Advantages: no preparation required, time-saving, simplifies analyses. Disadvantages: higher cost compared to powdered media, handling and risk of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), ecological impact of transporting water. Supplier selection criteria: media quality, […]
Summary of this article (for the lazy ones 😁): 👉 The definition of a batch in food microbiology is complex and subject to various approaches.👉 The three accredited laboratories interviewed believe that a media preparator cycle ≠ a batch.👉 Key factors: cycle parameters, water quality, staff qualification, and internal controls.👉 Each lab tailors its method […]
Summary of this article (for the lazy ones 😁): When using enrichment broths in a food microbiology laboratory, there are several options: According to our LinkedIn survey, 16% of SuperMicrobiologistes currently use media preparators in their laboratories. This percentage would likely be much higher if the question had been asked exclusively to food microbiology laboratories. […]
Whether you call it a hockey stick, a spreader, a spatula, the L-shaped thing for spreading or Drigalski’s rake (the debate is still open on LinkedIn), the use of this instrument must be mastered to perfection! Use it too intensively and you run the risk of killing microorganisms; use it too “laxly” and enumeration will […]
Waste reduction: a hot topic in microbiology labs! How do we know? Because most SuperMicrobiologists are working on it! Honestly, we would have bet our hand on a Bunsen burner that it was all about cutting costs (since HCRW disposal isn’t cheap). But no! Surprise, surprise — it seems that ecology is leading the charge. […]
When microbiologists are asked what the most annoying task is, almost everyone answers: “Serial dilutions.” On one hand, it’s repetitive and hard on the joints (risk of MSDs). On the other hand, it requires a lot of focus and precision—lose track (or the tube), and you might end up with inaccurate results. Not easy… here’s […]
If there’s one indispensable tool for microbiology labs worldwide, it’s the incubator. At a minimum, an incubator must be temperature-stable and homogeneous. Most manufacturers meet this standard (although a few surprises still pop up occasionally). No, the real difference between two incubators lies elsewhere. To help you choose the model best suited to your needs, […]
