Table 1. Quantitative PCR and colony count results.

Column 1: sample number; Column 2: results TYM-qPCR signals in terms of quantification cycle (Cq); Column 3: colony counts for 3M TYM plates; Column 4, inferred colony counts from BMX YM cards, Column 5: TYM-qPCR Cq signals after culture in the BMX YM system; Column 6: TAC-qPCR Cq signals from extracted plant material; Column 7: inferred colony counts from BMX AC cards, and Column 8: TAC-qPCR Cq signals after culture in BMX YM cards. Results in bold type and shaded boxes indicate failed tests. Abbreviations: BMX: Biomerieux, TYM: total yeast and mold, YM: yeast and mold, TNTC: too many to count, TAC: total aerobic count, AC: aerobic count, n.d.: not done. The AC and TYM failure thresholds for colony counts on the 3M and Biomerieux platforms are 100,000 CFU/g and 10,000 CFU/g respectively. The TAC and TYM qPCR failure thresholds are Cq ≤ 21 and Cq ≤ 26, respectively.

Sample	TYM- qPCR Cq Before	3M TYM CFU	BMX YM CFU	TYM-qPCR Cq After BMX	TAC-qPCR Cq Before	BMX AC CFU	TAC-qPCR Cq After BMX
1	40+	0	2.8,000	40+	26.34	>490,000	20.36
2	40+	0	590	40+	25.12	34,000	15.2
3	24.52	TNTC	490,000	19.76	24.22	48,000	16.19
4	27.7	80,000	110,000	20.73	21.09	>490,000	16.01
5	23.25	TNTC	490,000	22.24	24.22	78,000	16.19
6	20.48	240,000	250,000	20.73	40+	<100	30.38
7	40+	0	<100	40+	29.4	310	27.54
8	40+	0	100	26.79	24.05	<100	26.93
9	40+	1,000	440	25.45	40+	450	26.65
11	40+	10,000	12,000	17.77	27.38	n.d.	27.8
12	40+	14,000	14,000	19.54	30.55	n.d.	28.56
13	40+	28,000	19,000	21.21	35.33	<100	30.39
14	40+	TNTC	250,000	20.49	26	210	29.97
15	40+	211,000	140,000	20.08	23.98	100	30.12
16	40+	TNTC	210,000	22.3	25.28	100	31.63
	Fail: ≤ 26	Fail: > 10,000	Fail: > 10,000	Fail: ≤ 26	Fail: ≤ 21	Fail: > 100,000	Fail: ≤ 21