1. Traditional methods

For almost a century, traditional bacteriological methods have relied almost exclusively on the use of specific media to isolate and enumerate bacterial cells in food. However, some pathogenic micro-organisms require complex, time-consuming protocols.

Foods contain a huge number of ingredients, including proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and minerals. Most of these components can affect the viability of bacteria and thus interfere with the detection of specific pathogenic bacteria. The physico-chemical composition of foods is also highly variable: liquid, solid, semi-solid and other mixed forms. These differences in viscosity can also hamper the production of homogeneous test samples ensuring reproducible food analysis.

In addition to the extreme variety of food matrices, the sometimes abundant natural microflora present can also hinder the...