Evaluation of the MC-Media Pad™ Yeast and Mold Device for the Enumeration of Yeast and Mold: Collaborative Study, First Action 2018.02.

Background: The MC-Media Pad (TM) Yeast and Mold (YM) is a ready-to use culture device that combines a test pad coated with medium and water-absorption polymers that is designed for the rapid quantification of yeast and mold in food products. Objective: The MC-Media Pad YM was compared with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) for the enumeration of yeast and mold in frozen orange juice concentrate. Methods: The candidate method was evaluated using a paired study design in a multilaboratory collaborative study following the current AOAC Validation Guidelines. Three target contamination levels (low, 10-100 CFU/g; medium, 100-1000 CFU/g; and high 1000-10000 CFU/g) and an uninoculated control level (0 CFU/g) were evaluated. MC-Media Pad YM devices were enumerated after 48 and 72 h of incubation. Results: Plate count obtained by both methods were log-transformed and the difference of means (including 95% confidence intervals), repeatability SD, and SD were determined for each contamination level. Conclusions: No statistical difference was observed between the MC-Media Pad YM (for both 48 and 72 h) and the FDA BAM for each contamination level. Highlights: The new method offers a convenient alternative to the reference method (FDA BAM) for detection of yeast and mold contamination in food products, yielding reliable and comparable results in 48 h compared to 5 days for the reference method.