A rapid method for detecting spoilage of a food sample, particularly a fish sample,
by detecting and enumerating sulfide-producing bacteria (SPB). A growth medium
containing iron and sulfur is combined with the food sample forming an incubation
mixture which is incubated for a period of time. In one embodiment, a plurality
of fluorescence measurements are taken during an incubation period of about 3 hours
to 17 hours at 30 C. SPB are determined to be present in the sample if the
fluorescence measurement initially increases and then decreases to form a fluorescence
maximum (peak). The time to detection of the fluorescence peak can be used with
a correlation schedule to enumerate the SPB in the food sample. In another embodiment,
a visual test can also be used to identify color changes in the incubation mixture
to provide a semi-quantitative enumeration of SPB effective after about 3 hours
to 17 hours of incubation.
