Building up to this year's festive season, the Food Standards Agency in the UK has reported the recall of a number of Christmas cakes due to mould spoilage. A festive reminder perhaps of the nuisance value and economic issues associated with such organisms.

Lab M is a trusted provider of a wide range of microbiological media that are used to help detect and isolate yeast and mould spoilage organisms in both food and animal products. This range includes Dichloran Rose Bengal Chloramphenicol (DRBC) Agar ISO and Dichloran (18%) Glycerol (DG18) Agar ISO. DRBC Agar (ISO) is used in products with a water activity greater than 0.95 with DG18 Agar (ISO) being designed for use specifically for osmophilic yeasts and xerophilic moulds in food or animal feed products with a water activity below 0.95. Both formulations are prepared according to ISO 21527:2008 and are supplied as complete formulations without the need for additional antibiotic supplementation.

Other products in Lab M's range of media for yeasts and moulds include Oxytetracycline Glucose Yeast Extract Agar and Potato Dextrose Agar.

For complete details of Lab M's range of media for the isolation of yeasts and moulds visit www.labm.com.