Comparison of culture media, simplate, and petrifilm for enumeration of yeasts and molds in food

The efficacy of three culture media, dichloran rose bengal chloramphenicol (DRBC), dichloran 18% glycerol agar (DG 18), and potato dextrose agar (PDA) supplemented with two antibiotics, were compared with the Simplate and Pet rifilm techniques for mold and yeast enumeration. The following foods were analyzed: corn meal, wheat flour, cassava flour, bread crumbs, whole meal, sliced bread, ground peanuts, mozzarella cheese, grated parmesan cheese, ch eese rolls, orange juice, pineapple pulp, pineapple cake, and mushroom in c onserve. Correlation coefficients of DRBC versus PDA and DG18 for recoverin g total mold and yeast counts from the composite of 14 foods indicated that the three media were generally equivalent. Correlation coefficients for Pe trifilm versus culture media were acceptable, although not as good as betwe en culture media. Correlation coefficients of Simplate versus DRBC, DG18, P DA, and Petrifilm for recovering total yeasts and molds from a composite of 11 foods demonstrated that there was no equivalence between the counts obt ained by Simplate and other culture media and Petrifilm, with significant d ifferences observed for the most foods analyzed.