Enterobacteria

Bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The family includes vertebrate pathogens such as Escherichia, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Salmonella, Yersinia and Enterobacter, as well as food spoilage organisms like Serratia, Proteus and Erwinia. Their counts in food serve as indicators of processing hygiene. Enumeration on violet-red bile glucose agar after selective enrichment gives the Enterobacteriaceae count used in EU process hygiene criteria for dairy, meat and ready-to-eat foods. High counts trigger investigation of raw-material quality, pasteurisation efficacy and recontamination, though the family also contains harmless plant-associated species such as Erwinia.