For determination of plate counts of microorganisms in foods, water and wastewater.

This medium is prepared by replacing Casein enzymic hydrolysate with HiVeg hydrolysate which is free from BSE/ TSE risks. Plate Count HiVeg Agar medium is the modification of Plate Count Agar formulated as described by Buchbinder et al and which is also recommended by APHA. HiVeg hydrolysate provides amino acids and other complex nitrogenous substances. Yeast extract supplies Vitamin B complex. The samples are diluted and appropriate dilutions are placed in petri plates. Sterile molten agar is added to these plates and plates are rotated gently to ensure uniform mixing of the sample with agar. Plate Count HiVeg Agar
like the conventional medium is also suitable for finding out bacterial count from sterile rooms. To obtain countable plates for foods having low colony counts, low dilutions must be used. For some food this
results in the presence of food particles in the plate, which makes it difficult to distinguish easily for accurate counting. This problem can be overcome by adding 1 ml of 0.5% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) per 100 ml of melted agar medium just prior to pouring the plates. Most bacteria form red colonies on an agar medium containing TTC.