PURPOSE
The main purposes of the Culture Media SIG are:
to serve as a platform and forum for the discussion of matters pertaining principally related to those microbiological media used in the growth , differentiation and primary characterisation of bacteria, yeasts and moulds;
To provide custody of the various Guidelines for assuring quality of microbiological media used in: medical microbiology; medical mycology; solid mycobacteria media; for food and water microbiological media
SCOPE
Whilst the SIG is not involved with the creation of new media, it may serve as a platform for discussion of new and emerging technologies associated with microbiological media, its use, and its quality.
At this time the SIG’s scope does not extend to cell culture media, or virology media.
Susceptibility testing media are the domain of the various methodologies (CDS, EUCAST, CLSI) and are outside the scope of the SIG. the SIG may be called on to comment on matters relating to media in this domain, or provide a forum for such discussions.
BACKGROUND
The Culture Media Special Interest Group (SIG) of the Australian Society for Microbiology was formed
in 1991 by a group of interested individuals after an upsurge in interest in the issue of media quality
and the appearance that no common standards or consensus existed in this area in Australia.
Increased interest, especially amongst medical microbiologists, in what was being done, or should be
done, by way of assuring the quality of microbiological media made the issue contentious.
The National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), Australia, were amongst those seeking
guidance in the area of Media Quality Control, being in the position of accrediting microbiology
laboratories in the fields of biological testing and medical testing. They found little in the way of
consistency and knew of no locally applicable guidelines on which to base their assessments and
recommendations.
Medical Microbiological media
A working party of the Culture Media SIG developed a set of guidelines “Guidelines for Assuring
Quality of Medical Microbiological Culture Media” which were approved in September 1996.
The second edition was published in 2012.
Food and Water Microbiological media
The Culture Media SIG published the first edition of the guidelines for assuring the quality of
food and water microbiological culture media in 2004. This document set out to guide
laboratories on how to assure the quality of control culture media, regardless of whether the
media was produced in-house or sourced from outside the laboratory. It brought together
information from disparate sources and was an important resource for laboratories seeking to
meet the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025: General requirements for the competence of
testing and calibration laboratories and for The National Association of Testing Authorities
(NATA) that assessed laboratories for compliance to this standard. These guidelines,
combining food and water microbiological culture media, preceded the conversion of the
International Standards Organisation (ISO) technical specifications for quality control of
culture media used in food microbiology (1), to a full ISO Standard that also incorporates
media used in water microbiology (2). The Food and Water guidelines inclusion of both food and water media was the inspiration behind the decision of ISO committee TC34/SC9 to include water media in the relevant ISO 11133 standard, and parts of the International Standard have been heavily influenced by the Australian predecessor…..from which we can draw great pride.
Medical Mycology media
The SIG and the Mycology SIG collaborated to produce the document, ‘Guidelines for Assuring Quality
Of Medical Mycological Culture Media’. The process began in recognition that the issue of quality assurance and quality control for mycology media had not been addressed within the 1996 Guidelines for Assuring Quality of Medical
Microbiological Culture Media and left a gap that this document aimed to fill. Initially, a 2001 draft revision of the 1996 Guidelines was prepared, with the intent of incorporating the mycology elements within. This was abandoned, after further discussion and consultation concluded that a separate set of guidelines was more appropriate for the mycology media.
Unfortunately, due to a range of factors, the release of this separate document was delayed longer than originally planned or intended; however, this also allowed for further modifications of, and improvements to, the document so that it be further fine-tuned before release. This document was particularly designed to aid end-users in defining their responsibilities for
receiving and testing mycology media. The hope was that it would also assist producers and assessors in achieving a quality product that would be reflected in best-practice procedures for the mycology laboratory, delivery of the highest standards in microbiological laboratory practices, and delivery of optimal patient outcomes.
Solid Mycobacteria media
These Guidelines reflect the desire to promote a consistent, high-quality solid media product for the performance of medical mycobacteriology in Australia and recognizes the fact that quality assurance and quality control for this group of media is a highly complex issue. Overseas-published experiences document the importance and the specialized nature of quality assurance and quality control of mycobacteria media.
The SIG and the Mycobacteria SIG collaborated to produce this document. First published in 2004, the second edition was released in 2012, and incorporated changes that had occurred in processes, documentation, and references subsequent to the release of the First Edition, as well as dealing with minor editorial matters.
These Guidelines were well received at the time of their launch and the reviews received from end-users were most favourable. They were been referenced in the Guidelines for Australian Mycobacteriology Laboratories.
Other
The SIG has been involved in organising a number of symposia at national scientific meetings over many years, including topics of: ingredients and biosecurity; third world preparation of media; evolution of quality assurance; chromogenic media and its emergence; ISO and Standards, to name but a few.