This course will provide with introduction to basics of bioluminescent methods used for rapid analysis of microbiological quality of food and environmental samples. Bioluminescence-based methods currently are the only methods that allow detection of microorganisms in close to real-time format. These methods are found in applications ranging from high-throughput screening of food and environmental samples for microbiological safety and quality to sophisticated methods that provide more detailed information on the bacterial agents present in the sample including their identification, antibiotic and antimicrobial substances resistance, physiological and metabolic state, spatial distribution in the sample, etc. Basics of bioluminescent systems will be introduced and explained in the course together with principles of their application in microbiological assays. Different formats of bioluminescent methods will be surveyed and discussed in terms of their applicability for the detection of microorganisms. The following tests will be discussed in details: 1) assays for total bacterial counts; 2) hygiene monitoring; 3) identification of microorganisms. Instrumentation and reagents available on the market that are used for these tests will be reviewed beginning with simple hand-held devices intended for field tests followed by automated luminescent plate readers and CCD cameras, pros and cons will be discussed.