TABLE 3.
Microbial counts in all samples of all raw materials, processed constituents, and intermediate products determined during postenrichment enumerationa
| Sample | Sample description | Count (avg log no. of CFU/g ± SD) |
Underestimation (log no. of CFU/g) at 30°C (medium) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCA |
RCA |
MRS |
||||||
| 22°C | 30°C | 22°C | 30°C | 22°C | 30°C | |||
| 1st company visit | ||||||||
| I.1 | Whole green sweet bell pepper | 7.67 ± 0.04 | 7.66 ± 0.04 | 7.66 ± 0.13 | 7.57 ± 0.37 | 7.64 ± 0.12 | 6.84 ± 0.06 | 0.80 (MRS) |
| I.2 | Whole yellow sweet bell pepper | 8.01 ± 0.02 | 7.90 ± 0.04 | 7.73 ± 0.07 | 7.69 ± 0.08 | 7.70 ± 0.01 | 7.36 ± 0.10 | |
| I.3 | Whole red sweet bell pepper | 7.98 ± 0.04 | 7.96 ± 0.05 | 7.80 ± 0.04 | 7.76 ± 0.03 | 6.52 ± 0.02 | 6.50 ± 0.02 | |
| I.4 | Cut green sweet bell pepper | 7.20 ± 0.03 | 7.01 ± 0.06 | 7.23 ± 0.05 | 7.11 ± 0.03 | <5 | <5 | |
| I.5 | Cut yellow sweet bell pepper | 7.84 ± 0.06 | 7.48 ± 0.02 | 7.38 ± 0.02 | 6.35 ± 0.08 | 7.55 ± 0.07 | 6.24 ± 0.07 | 1.31 (MRS) |
| I.6 | Cut red sweet bell pepper | 5.98 ± 0.19 | 5.79 ± 0.10 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
| I.7 | Whole peeled carrots | 7.58 ± 0.02 | 7.48 ± 0.05 | 7.16 ± 0.08 | 7.12 ± 0.04 | 5.59 ± 0.11 | 5.36 ± 0.10 | |
| I.8 | Sliced red sweet bell pepper | 7.59 ± 0.04 | 7.58 ± 0.02 | 7.46 ± 0.03 | 7.32 ± 0.04 | 5.85 ± 0.15 | <5 | >0.85 (MRS) |
| I.9 | Sliced yellow sweet bell pepper | 8.86 ± 0.01 | 8.83 ± 0.01 | 8.79 ± 0.03 | 8.73 ± 0.05 | 8.86 ± 0.02 | 8.85 ± 0.01 | |
| I.10 | Sliced red sweet bell pepper | 8.78 ± 0.06 | 8.69 ± 0.08 | 8.70 ± 0.03 | 8.68 ± 0.01 | 8.49 ± 0.09 | 7.96 ± 0.05 | 0.53 (MRS) |
| I.11 | Sliced yellow sweet bell pepper | 8.98 ± 0.04 | 8.89 ± 0.04 | 8.32 ± 0.10 | 8.30 ± 0.02 | 8.56 ± 0.02 | 8.03 ± 0.11 | 0.52 (MRS) |
| I.12 | Halved eggs | 9.43 ± 0.02 | 9.37 ± 0.02 | 8.77 ± 0.04 | 8.72 ± 0.01 | 8.92 ± 0.05 | 8.78 ± 0.02 | |
| I.13 | Carrot sticks | 8.93 ± 0.07 | 8.90 ± 0.04 | 8.59 ± 0.03 | 8.38 ± 0.05 | 6.71 ± 0.04 | 6.12 ± 0.11 | 0.59 (MRS) |
| I.14 | Curly carrot sticks | 8.61 ± 0.04 | 8.56 ± 0.02 | 7.95 ± 0.02 | 7.78 ± 0.03 | <5 | <5 | |
| I.15 | Onion rings | 9.30 ± 0.02 | 9.25 ± 0.01 | 9.22 ± 0.01 | 9.19 ± 0.02 | 5.65 ± 0.00 | <5 | >0.65 (MRS) |
| I.16 | Mix (peppers, broccoli, corn, peas) | 9.38 ± 0.03 | 9.29 ± 0.02 | 9.10 ± 0.03 | 9.07 ± 0.02 | 8.54 ± 0.08 | 8.37 ± 0.05 | |
| I.17 | Wok mix (peppers, carrot, leek) | 9.09 ± 0.01 | 9.06 ± 0.02 | 8.94 ± 0.04 | 8.89 ± 0.02 | 8.16 ± 0.14 | 7.64 ± 0.02 | 0.53 (MRS) |
| I.18 | Tuna | 8.13 ± 0.11 | 7.92 ± 0.08 | 7.88 ± 0.04 | 7.84 ± 0.01 | 7.40 ± 0.04 | 6.67 ± 0.02 | 0.73 (MRS) |
| I.19 | Shrimp | 6.01 ± 0.15 | 6.08 ± 0.04 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
| I.20 | Chicken cubes | 9.24 ± 0.03 | 9.20 ± 0.02 | 8.93 ± 0.02 | 8.88 ± 0.07 | 8.27 ± 0.08 | 7.61 ± 0.02 | 0.66 (MRS) |
| 2nd company visit | ||||||||
| II.1 | Mix (carrot, cabbage, peppers, lettuce, beans) | 9.20 ± 0.02 | 9.10 ± 0.03 | 8.47 ± 0.05 | 8.04 ± 0.04 | 8.60 ± 0.03 | 7.10 ± 0.10 | 1.50 (MRS) |
| II.2 | Quinoa with peas | 9.44 ± 0.04 | 9.37 ± 0.01 | 8.94 ± 0.06 | 7.48 ± 0.08 | 9.02 ± 0.04 | 8.33 ± 0.07 | 1.46 (RCA) |
| II.3 | Lettuce | 9.44 ± 0.01 | 9.43 ± 0.03 | 9.12 ± 0.03 | 9.09 ± 0.02 | 7.44 ± 0.04 | 7.3 ± 0.03 | |
| II.4 | Tuna | 9.29 ± 0.03 | 9.22 ± 0.03 | 8.68 ± 0.09 | 8.68 ± 0.10 | <5 | <5 | |
| II.5 | Bulgur tandoori | 6.91 ± 0.06 | 6.75 ± 0.03 | 6.06 ± 0.06 | 5.88 ± 0.09 | 6.04 ± 0.04 | <5 | >1.04 (MRS) |
| II.6 | Mix (carrot, cabbage, peppers, lettuce, beans) | 9.28 ± 0.02 | 9.21 ± 0.02 | 8.66 ± 0.04 | 8.63 ± 0.05 | 8.58 ± 0.02 | 8.48 ± 0.07 | |
| II.7 | Mix (carrot, cabbage, sauce) | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
| II.8 | Sardines | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
| II.9 | Halved eggs | 6.26 ± 0.04 | <5 | 6.14 ± 0.06 | 5.88 ± 0.10 | 5.84 ± 0.02 | <5 | >1.26 (PCA) |
| II.10 | Sliced green sweet bell peppers | 8.80 ± 0.05 | 8.62 ± 0.03 | 6.16 ± 0.08 | 5.95 ± 0.05 | 5.84 ± 0.07 | <5 | >0.84 (MRS) |
| II.11 | Sliced red sweet bell peppers | 9.38 ± 0.02 | 9.35 ± 0.02 | 8.96 ± 0.01 | 8.25 ± 0.06 | 9.05 ± 0.06 | 8.34 ± 0.05 | >0.71 (MRS) |
| II.12 | Farfalle (carrot, peppers, chicken, rocket, tomato) | 6.09 ± 0.09 | 5.93 ± 0.08 | <5 | <5 | 5.46 ± 0.15 | 5.36 ± 0.32 | |
| II.13 | Spirelli (carrot, zucchini) | 5.46 ± 0.15 | 5.42 ± 0.10 | 5.46 ± 0.15 | 5.10 ± 0.17 | 5.10 ± 0.17 | 5.10 ± 0.17 | |
| II.14 | Mix (sweet bell peppers, broccoli, corn) | 9.16 ± 0.03 | 7.44 ± 0.07 | 8.79 ± 0.01 | 8.74 ± 0.08 | 9.11 ± 0.03 | 6.77 ± 0.03 | 2.34 (MRS) |
| II.15 | Mix (cucumber, tomato, carrot) | 8.73 ± 0.06 | 8.27 ± 0.05 | 8.42 ± 0.05 | 8.00 ± 0.04 | 8.65 ± 0.07 | 7.64 ± 0.04 | 1.01 (MRS) |
| II.16 | Chicken pieces | 7.90 ± 0.02 | 7.76 ± 0.04 | 8.65 ± 0.08 | 8.44 ± 0.06 | 7.80 ± 0.04 | 7.71 ± 0.04 | |
| II.17 | Spirelli (ham, tomato, egg, parsley) | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
| II.18 | Chicken cubes | 7.89 ± 0.08 | 7.74 ± 0.08 | 8.93 ± 0.04 | 8.79 ± 0.01 | 7.76 ± 0.02 | 7.22 ± 0.18 | 0.54 (MRS) |
| II.19 | Whole green sweet bell pepper | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
| II.20 | Whole yellow sweet bell pepper | 6.29 ± 0.07 | 6.09 ± 0.05 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
| II.21 | Whole red sweet bell pepper | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | <5 | |
a
Postenrichment enumeration was performed after 10 days of anaerobic incubation at 4°C. This enrichment procedure was used to select for psychrotrophic LAB. Plating was performed in triplicate. PCA, plate count agar; RCA, reinforced clostridial agar.