• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.249-253
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• 2017

This study aimed to compare the automated most-probable-number (MPN) TEMPO BC and the quantitative mannitol-egg yolk-polymyxin (MYP) plate methods for enumeration of Bacillus cereus in food samples known to be frequently contaminated. Food products that were naturally or artificially contaminated with B. cereus were analyzed by both methods. A difference of less than 1 log (CFU/g) between the two methods was noted in 95.3% samples. There were no significant differences in artificially contaminated products between the two methods in terms of $R^2$ values for sauce products, jorim products, fish products, etc. However, a significant difference was noted for sunsik, fermented soybean products, and products. The linear equation of naturally versus artificially contaminated food was $log_{(TEMPO\;BC)}=0.8453{\times}log_{(MYP\;plate\;agar)}+0.1642$. Statistical analysis of the results showed good agreement between the two methods. Due to growing interest in food safety, the use of the TEMPO BC method may increase. In response to this trend, the results from this study will offer valuable comparative data on the feasibility of existing methods and help develop new approaches for food safety testing.