Piernas and Guiraud (1997) reported that 7.45 logCFU
of total mesophilic bacteria, 3.08 logCFU of total coliforms,
2.28 logCFU of thermotolerant coliforms, 1.30 logCFU of
enterococci, and 4.41 logCFU/g of yeast and mold were
present in rice. Sarrias, Valero, and Salmeron (2003) noted
that rice was usually contaminated with 5.09 logCFU of
total mesophilic bacteria, 1.39 logCFU of total coliforms,
1.43 logCFU of Bacillus cereus, and 0.72 logCFU/g of yeast
and mold. Recently, Chang et al. (2004) reported that rice
was contaminated with 4.96 logCFU of total mesophilic
bacteria, 2.78 logCFU of total coliforms, 1.90 logCFU of
B. cereus, and 3.56 logCFU/g of yeast and mold.