Selective enumeration and survival of bifidobacteria in fresh cheese

Five species of bifidobacteria (15 strains), two strains of Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis, two strains of L. lactis ssp. cremoris, and one strain of L. lactis ssp. lactis var diacetylactis were included in a study to develop a selective medium for enumeration of bifidobacteria from fresh cheese. Viable counts of bifidobacteria or lactococci on modified Columbia agar base (CAB with 0.05% cysteine-HCl) plus raffinose (0.5%) containing various selective agents were compared with non-selective media. The mCAB plus raffinose with lithium chloride (2 g L^?1) and sodium propionate (3 g L^?1) with pH adjusted to 5.1 was used successfully as a selective medium for the enumeration of bifidobacteria from fresh cheese. Using this medium, it was determined that bifidobacteria could survive up to 15 days at a level higher than 10⁶ cfu g^?1 in a fresh cheese stored at 4 or 12°C. The decrease in the viable counts of bifidobacteria was faster during storage at 4°C than at 12°C.