As a result, the term "E.colifo" was coined to describe this group of enteric bacteria.
Coliform is not a laxonomic classification but rather a working definition used to describe a group of Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic rod-shaped bacteria that ferments lactose to produce acid and gas within 48 h at 35"c. In 1914, the U.S.Public Health Service adopted the enumeration of coliforms as a more convenient standard of sanitary significance.