Innovations in methods for the microbiological analysis of food continue to appear at a rapid pace. Edition 8 (1995) of the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM-8) contained numerous refinements of procedures and updates of references from the 1992 edition. The list of commercially available test kits and the discussion of rapid methods in Appendix 1 were thoroughly revised. Three chapters were added: the use of reverse transcription (RT) and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect and quantify contamination of shellfish with hepatitis A virus (Chapter 26); new procedures for the alkaline phosphatase test to determine whether dairy foods were prepared with pasteurized milk (Chapter 27); and the use of PCR to detect toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in foods (Chapter 28). For this printing (BAM - 8A), the following has been revised or added: Campylobacter (Chapter 7), Yeast and Molds (Chapter 18), Cyclospora [Chapter 19 (Parasites)] and Staphylococcus enterotoxins (Chapter13). In addition, there are updated tables in Appendix 1 on Rapid Methods and revised and corrected tables in Appendix 2 on MPN. Appendix 3 reflects changes in media and corrects errors in the 8th Edition. A table summarizing changes from BAM-8 to BAM-8A is included.