Comparison of Media for Isolation of Bacillus cereus from Foods

Abstract
Three media for isolation of Bacillus cereus from foods were compared: mannitol-egg yolk-polymyxin (MYP) agar, polymyxin pyruvate-egg yolk-mannitol-bromothymol blue agar (PEMBA) and non-selective blood agar. Twenty-six of 45 samples of different reconstituted and incubated dry food products and 18 of 29 samples of milk and cream (incubated overnight) contained B. cereus. None of the media performed significantly better than the others as regards quantitative recovery or selectivity.