METHOD FOR TESTING COLONY

PURPOSE:To improve the accuracy of bacterial tests on foods, by taking pictures of a sample colony cultivated on a culture medium in a laboratory dish with time, and memorizing the resultant picture image information in a memory device. CONSTITUTION:A laboratory dish 7 in which a colony is produced on a culture medium is placed on a stage 3 for carrying the laboratory dish 7 to be tested by an unloader 1, and pictures thereof are taken by a color television camera 2. The picture image information from the respective picture elements from the camera 2 are processed by a computer 4 and memorized in a memory device 5. After the lapse of a given time, the pictures of the colony in the laboratory dish 7 are further taken at the same relative position with the camera 2. The resultant information is received in a monitor television receiver 6, and the picture image information memorized by the memory device 5 is also received in the monitor television receiver 6. Thus, the growth conditions of the colony are compared at different times.