NFL Aseptic Validation Medium

National Food Laboratory Aseptic Validation Medium is used for the cultivation of mesophilic or thermophilic spoilage microorganisms in food in a laboratory setting. National Food Laboratory Aseptic Validation Medium is not intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions in humans.

Foods may spoil either due to biological or chemical reasons. Spore-forming bacteria, e.g., Clostridium and Bacillus, are important because of their heat resistant (thermophilic) nature. In addition, there are other microorganisms which are not heat resistant (mesophilic) but enter through the leakage of the container during cooling.

Examples of spoilage type thermophilic microorganisms are flat-sour and sulfide spoilage and can be found in corn, peas and spinach. Mesophilic microorganisms include putrefactive anaerobes, butyric anaerobes, and aciduric flat-sour, and can be found in tomatoes and peas.

In the 1930’s, the National Canners Association specified use of Dextrose Tryptone Agar for isolating “flat sour” organisms from food products.

National Food Laboratory Aseptic Validation Medium is a general purpose medium for the recovery of aerobic and facultative organisms used in the validation and commissioning of aseptic filling systems. This medium is ideally suited for the spore-forming organisms used in the validation of steam, hydrogen peroxide, and peracetic acid sterilization systems.