The initial and surviving numbers of viable cells in the cheeses were evaluated at different times. For this, cheese samples were homogenized in peptone water (1:10) and dilution drops (20 ml) were spotted in duplicate onto agar YGC and Oxford, and the number of CFU/ml was determined after incubation at 28 C for 72 h and 37 for 48 h, respectively. Enumeration of colonies was performed, and microorganism growth was expressed as log CFU/ ml. Determinations were performed in duplicate in two separate experimental runs.