The samples were thawed at room temperature before being analyzed
by dilution plating. Under aseptic conditions, 25 g of each sample
was weighed and 225 mL of 0.01% sterile peptone water was added.
After homogenization, aliquots of the serial dilutions were prepared
and inoculated on plates containing potato dextrose agar (PDA) supplemented
with chloramphenicol. The plates were incubated at 25 °C for
7 days and 5 °C for 21 days. The results were expressed in colonyforming-
units per gram of sample (CFU/g), according to Pitt and
Hocking's (2009) methodology.
The medium PDA was selected after comparative tests carried out
with 18% Glycerol Agar Dichloran (DG18) and Rose Bengal Agar
Dichloran (DRBC), both supplemented with chloramphenicol. All
media showed similar recoveries when incubated at 25 °C, but the
recoveries at low temperatures by PDA were significantly higher
when compared to DRBC and DG18 which mostly presented no growth
of fungi at all.