Approval Status of Easygel ® / Redigel ® Media

Easygel® and Redigel® are trademarks of RCR Scientific Inc. and Micrology Laboratories LLC for their proprietary pectin gel based media. The original trademark was Redigel® that was established in the early 1980s and owned by RCR Scientific Inc. and the trademark Easygel® was established by Micrology Laboratories LLC (RCR sister company) in the mid 1990s. The media are made and currently marketed by Micrology Laboratories under either trademark and are comparable in composition and use.

Micrology Laboratories LLC is proud that our pectin base Total Count (SPC) Redigel®/Easygel® medium has been available for use in the food and beverage industry since 1988 to be used as AOAC Method 988.18 titled Aerobic Plate Count, Pectin Gel Method. This was a result of a Collaborative Study published in the J.ASSOC. OFF. ANAL. CHEM. (VOL. 71, NO. 2. 1988, pp. 343-349).

Also, our pectin base Violet Red Bile (VRB) Redigel®/Easygel® medium has been available for use in the dairy industry since 1889 to be used as AOAC Method 989.11 titled Coliforms in Dairy Products, Pectin Gel Method. This was a result of a Collaborative study published in the J. ASSOC.OFF. ANAL. CHEM. (VOL. 72, NO. 2, 1989).

For both of these Methods, the base formulations were described, and it was noted that the media and plates were available from RCR Scientific, Inc. It was also noted for the Aerobic Plate Count Method that “Before pectin base medium formulated from individual ingredients is used, comparability to commercially available medium must be demonstrated”. It was also noted for the Coliforms in Dairy Products VRB medium that “Pectin base medium may be formulated from individual ingredients; suitability for analysis must be demonstrated”. Currently, these media are only available from Micrology Laboratories LLC or their distributors.

Redigel®/Easygel® media have found extensive use and favor in applications including food, beverage and water analysis, and other areas since 1980. In particular, it should be noted that Redigel®/Easygel® Potato Dextrose formulations have been and are currently in wide use for mold/yeast determinations in food and environmental applications. In comparison to Potato Dextrose Agar, the standard for mold and yeast analysis, numerous studies have found our Potato Dextrose Redigel®/Easygel® formulations to be equivalent or superior.

Also, Redigel®/Easygel® Coliscan media are widely used in Water Watch Programs throughout the United States and internationally.