6 replies to this topic

[poppysnoss]

Hi.

Does anyone know if there are specifications or guidelines for yeast & mould on foods, such as pizza or even just foods in general. I am trying to write an assignment on food microbiology but am having trouble finding any information on yeast & mould specs. Pseudomonas is another parameter.



Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[GMO]

I've not got it with me but there are guidelines which Tesco produce for their products so I'll dig it out when I remember.

Generally unless it's grossly contaminated, Y&M are mainly about spoilage and pseuds definitely are.

It would probably help the team to know whether the limits you're after are for start or end of life?

(Note that cheese specs for Y&M will be high and push up your spec if you chose to test the product with the cheese included.)

[poppysnoss]

Hello.

The types of foods I am writing my assignment on are chilled pizzas, all of which include cheese. I would be looking at start of life, ie release to customers.

Thanks

[SaRaRa]

Quick random net search:

Yeast and Mould Counts

Microbiology

Specigying a seasoning

Typical Specification of Blueberries for Manufacture of Fruit Preparation Designed for Use in Yoghurt

Specification of Distillery Yeasts

Hope those links are useful.

Good luck!

[Charles.C]

Dear Sarara,

Impressive links. Unfortunately, the most obvious conclusion is that , as usual, quantitative opinions widely differ. I couldn't see any numerical "international" offerings. I also found some of the logic rather debatable, eg from one text -

 yeast__mould_counts_in_spices.jpg   39.29KB   143 downloads

Seems to go against the concept of a baseline specification for "food grade" ingredients.

@ poppysnoss, there are some other numerical data given on this forum if you search a little.

Rgds / Charles.C

[poppysnoss]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the replies. However, I still cannot put my finger on the info I'm looking for. Charles, I must be looking in the wrong place as I can't find anything relevant at all.

So, would a yeast & mould spec of 100,000 cfu/g for a pizza product containing cheese be realistic, or perhaps too high? I have a copy of PHLS guidelines for ready to eat foods, but it does not list yeast/moulds or pseudomonas for that matter.

[Charles.C]

Dear Poppysnoss,

Ahem. Some threads for various products with (Y&M) numerical "limit" data/gram are –

http://www.ifsqn.com...showtopic=11840

http://www.ifsqn.com...showtopic=11472

http://www.ifsqn.com...showtopic=10970

http://www.ifsqn.com...showtopic=10487

http://www.ifsqn.com...?showtopic=9365

http://www.ifsqn.com...?showtopic=3671

It is obvious that the data varies considerably with product, not so surprising I guess . (and presumably location / source also), eg from above links -

100,1000
100,100
50,100
10,000,10,000
30,30
50,50

Take yr pick. I think you can find further “average” numbers in some textbooks, given time. Pizza specifically is probably on a IT suppliers site somewhere along the rainbow.

Rgds / Charles.C

Added – for what they’re worth, here are few more items extracted from Compendium of methods for microbiological examination of foods, 4th ed, 2001. This book is partially available on net (google book).

Interpreted (by me) limits/g for both Y and M –
Sugar confectionaries <100
Salad dressing / mayonnaise < 10

US standards/g, both Y and M -
Sweetened condensed milk <5
Butter <20
Cream cheese, cottage cheese <10

the numbers seem to start going up for things like (some) raw spices inter alia.