Analytical instrument and method for evaluating microbial contamination of an object

1. A method for evaluating microbial contamination of an object, comprising the steps of: (a) incubating a sample taken from the object starting at time t o , (b) periodically ascertaining an O 2 concentration of the incubating sample until the detected O 2 concentration decreases below a threshold value, (c) establishing the time period t Threshold measured from t o to the time at which the O 2 concentration decreased below the threshold value, and (d) correlating t Threshold to a viable aerobic microbe count in the sample prior to incubation, utilizing the linear equation:

y=mx+b   (Eq. 1)

wherein:

x=logarithm of the viable aerobic microbe count per unit weight of, volume of or area swabbed to obtain a sample at t o

y=t Threshold

x-intercept=(−b/m)=an estimated or experimental value for the logarithm of the minimum viable aerobic microbe count at t o in a sample effective for causing the sample to reach t Threshold substantially instantaneously upon commencement of incubation, and

m (slope)=( y 2 −y l )/( x 2 −x 1 ) wherein:

x 1 and y l are ascertained experimentally by establishing t Threshold for a sample taken from an object having a known x, and

x 2 and y 2 are values of x and y at the x-intercept (−b/m, 0).

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the logarithms are natural logarithms.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the sample is a specimen detached from the object and x=logarithm of the viable aerobic microbe count per unit weight or volume of a sample at t o .

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the sample is a swab-sampling taken from the surface of the object and x=logarithm of the viable aerobic microbe count per unit area of the object swabbed to obtain a sample at t o .

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the swab-sampling is taken after the surface has been sanitized for purposes of validating sanitization of the surface.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the object is a foodstuff and t o occurs after the sample has been stomached for a defined period of time t Stomach .

7. The method of claim 6 wherein t Stomach is completed within a lag phase growth of the bacteria.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein an O 2 concentration of the incubating sample is ascertained at least once every hour.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the O 2 concentration threshold value is a decrease of between 25% and 75% of the O 2 concentration at t o .

10. The method of claim 1 wherein correlating t Threshold to a viable aerobic microbe count in the sample prior to incubation is accomplished by solving the linear equation for x.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein correlating t Threshold to a viable aerobic microbe count in the sample prior to incubation is accomplished by use of a look-up table.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the x-intercept is an experimental value.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the x-intercept is an estimated value between 6 and 10.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the sample is incubated in a hermetically sealed chamber in the presence of an oxygen sensitive photoluminescent dye and O 2 concentration of the incubating sample is ascertained by measuring fluorescence of the oxygen sensitive dye.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein luminescent lifetime of the oxygen sensitive dye changes in response to changes in the O 2 concentration of the incubating sample.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein the oxygen-sensitive photoluminescent dye is embedded within an oxygen-permeable hydrophobic polymer matrix in physical contact with the sample.

17. The method of claim 14 wherein the oxygen-sensitive photoluminescent dye is dissolved in the sample.