Coliforms

- g-, non-sporeforming, fac. anaerobic ford - ferment lactose @ 35C to produce acid and gas within 48h in lactose broth - grow in the presence of bile salts (selective agent in VRB agar) - no growth in foods at pH 4 or aw < 0.92 - destroyed by pasteurization (presence of coliforms indicate under-processing or post-processing contamination)