Significance of Fungal Populations on Foods (Baseline Counts)

“Baseline” counts are defined as the populations of molds and yeasts that normally occur in wholesome food or feed ingredients. Enumeration of fungal propagules is justified for the following reasons: 1. They provide an indication of compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) conditions during the growing, processing or storage of the food 2. High numbers of particular groups or species may indicate that mycotoxins are present 3. Even low numbers of propagules of some species may be highly significant and undesirable in some instances (e.g., Zygosaccharomyces bailii in soft drinks or Byssochlamys species in fruit juice).