Table 5.

Microbiological contamination levels (log CFU/g) per rearing farm. Data are the mean of replicates ± standard deviation. Within each row, means followed by different letters (a, b) are significantly different (p < 0.05).

Microbiological Parameter	Farm 1	Farm 2	Farm 3
Bacterial endospores	6.3 ± 1.4 a	6.6 ± 2 ab	7.1 ± 1.7 b
Enterobacteriaceae	4.5 ± 0.9 a	4.2 ± 1 a	4.7 ± 1.2 a
Lactic acid bacteria	5.3 ± 2.4 a	4.8 ± 1.1 a	5.5 ± 1.7 a
Molds	2.2 ± 1.2 a	1.8 ± 1.3 ab	3.2 ± 1.9 b
Psychotrophic bacteria	4.0 ± 1.6 a	4.6 ± 1.3 ab	5.0 ± 1.7 b
Total mesophilic flora	7.7 ± 1.6 a	8.2 ± 1.5 a	8.1 ± 1.6 a
Yeasts	2.2 ± 1.7 a	2.6 ± 1.4 a	2.2 ± 1.8 a