3.6. Microbial growth
Microbial counts of mesophilic aerobics and yeasts and molds
throughout the storage of both treated and non-treated freshcut
cilantros samples are shown in Fig. 5. During the storage
period, increase in microbial count was observed in all the
samples. Chemical treatment tends to reduce microbial
count in both mesophilic aerobics and yeasts and molds.
Chemically treated fresh-cut cilantros packed under MAP
conditions showed the least microbial population (T2),
followed by chemically treated (T1) and MAP samples (NT2). Control samples showed the highest microbial growth.
Same patterns were observed for both mesophilic aerobics
and yeast and molds growth. Thus, it could be concluded that
chemical treatment or MAP alone does not appear to reduce
the microbial load. However, these results indicated that the
combination of chemical treatment and MAP is more useful
for inhibiting the growth of mesophilic aerobics and yeast
and molds count than when these treatments are used alone.