Escherichia coli is a common Gram-negative micro-organism which may be present in food and water samples. The presence of E.coli cells may be indicative of fecal contamination, although their ingestion does not necessarily have adverse effects on health. Nevertheless, certain strains are responsible for diarrhoeal disease and can also lead to more serious forms of illness.

EC Broth has shown to be a reliable medium producing dependable results in 24 to 48 hours³.

• Selective: the addition of bile salts no.3 in the medium is inhibitory to gram-positive bacteria especially bacilli and fecal Streptococci making the medium selective for Escherichia coli
• Easy-to-read: gas production as a result of lactose fermentation is a presumptive evidence of the presence of coliform bacteria.

The presence of E. coli in water is also regarded as a specific indicator of fecal pollution, but lack of rapid identification methods means that the non-specific group - fecal coliforms - is also used as the indicator of such pollution. In this regard, it is important to differentiate between coliforms of fecal origin and those from other sources.

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