Table 1.

Spore-forming mesophilic bacteria (SMB) and presumptive B. cereus s.l. counts in Mexican chili powder samples.

Sample	SMB a	BC b (0)	BC (5)	BC (10)	BC (15)	BC (20)	BC (25)	BC (50)	BC (75)	BC (100)
A	1.73 × 103	200	100	100	100	100	100	100	˂100	˂100
B	8.0 × 102	100	˂100	˂100	˂100	˂100	˂100	˂100	˂100	˂100
C	2.92 × 105	600	633	600	666	566	433	˂100	˂100	˂100
D	3.24 × 105	700	600	433	633	533	533	333	233	˂100

^a Spore-forming mesophilic bacteria (SMB) counts. ^b Presumptive Bacillus cereus s.l. (BC) counts. To select colonies with ampicillin-resistance, the medium was supplemented at concentrations of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75, and 100 µg/ mL of ampicillin, indicated by numbers in parentheses. The theoretical limit of detection (LOD) was therefore 100 cfu/g. Numbers below this limit (˂100 cfu/g) in our results mean that bacterial growth was not detected in these conditions.