Knowing the number of colony forming units (CFU) in water is crucial in determining if it is acceptable for use in a particular application. 

The standard pour plate, spread plate, and membrane filtration test methods require a significant amount of time and labor, and are associated with a high chance of manual error. The cost associated with these methods can be high, not only the labor costs but also the cost of the necessary materials to conduct the testing. 

As an alternative to these traditional testing methods, a rapid microbial testing method uses fluorescence-based technology to obtain faster test results with significantly less time, labor, and cost. 

To learn more, see the article in the Related Resources column.