Colony Forming Units (CFU)

Colony Forming Units (CFU) are a measurement used in microbiology to estimate the number of viable microorganisms, such as bacteria or fungi, in a sample. When a sample is cultured on a nutrient-rich medium, individual microorganisms grow into visible colonies. Each colony originates from a single microorganism or a small group that was capable of multiplying. CFU counts help determine the level of contamination or microbial presence, useful in food safety, healthcare, and research. Essentially, CFU provides an estimate of how many living microorganisms are in the original sample.