Microbial Analysis of Fruit Salad

For microbial analysis, 10 g of the fruit salad (2.5 g from each fruit) was homogenized (MIX 2, AES Laboratoire, France) with 90 mL of a saline solution (0.85% w/v sodium chloride (NaCl)). The mixture was then appropriately diluted to achieve the desired microbial count. From these dilutions, samples were plated on specific agar media: Plate Count Agar (PCA, Merck) for total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Yeast Glucose Agar (YGC, Merck) for total yeast and mold, and Violet Red Bile Glucose Agar (VRBG, Merck) for total Enterobacteriaceae count. After incubation at 30°C for 48 h, 25°C for 3–5 days, and 37°C for 24 h, respectively, the results were reported as log colony‐forming unit (CFU)/g, following the methodology outlined by Lacivita et al. (2021 (link)).