Table 3.
Water activity (aw), microbial counts and aflatoxins concentration in cheese slices inoculated with A. parasiticus at five and 15 days of incubation. Data are given as mean ± SD.
| Day 5 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Untreated | Pg + Dh a | Pg + Dh + Pa | ||
| Aw | 0.89 | 0.89 | 0.89 | |
| Mold count (log cfu/cm2) | 4.12 ± 0.57 | 2.31 ± 0.64 * | 2.39 ± 0.75 * | |
| Yeast count (log cfu/cm2) | <3.00 | >7.50 * | >7.50 * | |
| Lactic acid bacteria (log cfu/cm2) | 2.84 ± 0.35 | 2.49±0.74 | 6.73 ± 0.26 * | |
| Aflatoxin B1 (µg/kg) | <LOD b | <LOD | <LOD | |
| Aflatoxin G1 (µg/kg) | 11 ± 7 | <LOD * | <LOD * | |
| Day 15 | ||||
| Untreated | Pg + Dh | Pg + Dh + Pa | ||
| Aw | 0.86 | 0.86 | 0.86 | |
| Mold count (log cfu/cm2) | 4.87 ± 0.21 | <2 * | 2.99 ± 0.67 * | |
| Yeast count (log cfu/cm2) | <3.00 | >7.50 * | >7.50 * | |
| Lactic acid bacteria (log cfu/cm2) | 3.75 | 2.7 | 6.71 * | |
| Aflatoxin B1 (µg/kg) | <LOD | <LOD | <LOD | |
| Aflatoxin G1 (µg/kg) | 29 ± 24 | <LOD | <LOD | |
a Pg: PgAFP; Dh: Debaryomyces hansenii; Pa: Pediococcus acidilactici. b LOD: Limit of detection. * Means are significantly different from untreated samples (p ≤ 0.05).