Easy Plate AC-R plate for rapid total aerobic bacteria count | Kikkoman

1. Introduction to the Easy Plate medium plate

- Easy Plate is a convenient ready-prepared medium plate that needs no preparation or sterilisation. Easy Plate is an easy-to-use alternative to preparing media in-house with traditional medium plates, saving time and effort and reducing waste.

- Easy Plate is a line of ready-to-use dry medium plates developed by Kikkoman Biochemifa (Japan), designed for fast and convenient microbiological testing. Within the line, Easy Plate AC-R is the product dedicated to counting total aerobic bacteria (Aerobic Count – AC) with a time to result shortened to only 24 hours.

- Easy Plate AC-R is a medium formulation designed specifically for culturing aerobic bacteria. The ready-prepared plate contains a chemical indicator that produces easily distinguishable red colonies, allowing aerobic bacteria to be identified and counted within 24 ± 1 hours. It is sold in packs of 100 tests, divided into 4 separate bags of 25 tests each. The shelf life is 12 months when stored unopened at 2-8℃.

- The plate is designed as a dry medium sheet that is settled and ready to use immediately, with no need to prepare medium or sterilise.

2. Specifications of the Easy Plate AC-R

- Product name: Easy Plate AC-R medium plate

- Product code: 61979

- Application: rapid total aerobic bacteria count

- Incubation time: 24 ± 1 hours.
In some cases, depending on the sample, colony growth may not be sufficient after 24 hours.
If this occurs, please extend the incubation time beyond 24 hours if necessary.

- Incubation temperature: 35 ± 1℃

- Storage conditions (unopened): 2 - 8℃

- After opening the bag, fold the opened end at least twice and seal it with tape. Store in a refrigerator (2 to 8℃) and use within 3 months.

- Shelf life 12 months from the date of manufacture

3. Principle

The principle of Easy Plate AC-R is based on:

- The ready-to-use dry medium contains nutrients specific to aerobic bacteria.

- When the diluted sample is pipetted onto the plate surface, the bacteria grow into colonies.

- The colonies that form have easily observable colours and characteristics, making it easy to count them and determine the bacterial density.

- Thanks to improved technology, AC-R allows results to be read after only 24 hours of incubation, faster than traditional methods.

- The colonies turn red, making them easy to observe and count, even when food debris or other colour sources are present.

- Reduced spreading of Bacillus spp. colonies: colonies of Bacillus spp. usually spread easily on ordinary agar media, but are effectively controlled on Easy Plate.

- High correlation with colony count agar in various types of food.

* Interpreting colony counts

- Count all red colonies regardless of size or intensity.

- The suitable colony count is between 1 and 250.

+ In some cases, depending on the sample, colony growth may not be sufficient after 24 hours.

+ If this occurs, please extend the incubation time beyond 24 hours if necessary.

4. Key advantages of the Easy Plate AC-R for rapid total aerobic bacteria count

- Fast: Culture time is only 24 hours instead of 48–72 hours as with conventional methods.

- Convenient: No medium preparation, no sterilisation, easy to use in the laboratory or in the field.

- Economical: Lower cost and effort than the traditional pour plate method.

- Accurate and reliable: Results are comparable with international standards (ISO, FDA BAM, …).

- Space and cost saving: each box contains 100 plates and takes up far less storage space than traditional agar media.

- The colonies turn red, making them easy to observe and count, even when food debris or other colour sources are present.

5. Applications

Kikkoman's Easy Plate AC-R is widely used in many areas of testing:

- Food industry: counting total aerobic bacteria in meat, fish, processed products, milk and dairy products, confectionery, fruit and vegetables, and seafood.

- Beverage and drinking water industry: quantifying bacteria in purified water, mineral water and bottled water.

- Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals: testing the level of microbial contamination in products and raw materials.

- Environmental hygiene testing: assessing the quality of air, production surfaces and processing tools in factories.

- QC/QA laboratories: used for routine quality control at production and processing facilities.

6. Example

* Microorganism strains

* Food samples on the Easy Plate AC-R

- Incubation conditions: 35℃, 24 hours (Diluent: phosphate buffer solution)

- These colours are for illustration only.

PacificLAB is the official distributor of Kikkoman Easy Plate products in Vietnam. Please contact us for a quotation and detailed information about this product.