Comparison of Four Media for the Enumeration of Fungi in Dairy Products — A Collaborative Study

Authors


  • We would like to acknowledge the excellent assistance provided by Dr. K.L Monti for the statistical evaluation of data in this study.

Address inquiries to Mr. Hall.

ABSTRACT

Four fungal enumeration media, including potato dextrose agar (PDA) with antibiotics (APDA), acidified PDA (PDA-A), Cooke rose bengal agar (CRBA), and APDA containing the mold colony spreading inhibitor dichloran (APDA-D-5), were compared by seven laboratories for recovery of yeasts and molds from inoculated and naturally contaminated dairy products. Although some variability was observed in counts obtained for individual products between laboratories, no significant overall differences were observed among the four media. Mold colony diameters but not numbers were reduced with APDA-D-5 and CRBA, thus aiding in the counting of plates heavily contaminated with molds.

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