CHROMagar Candida medium as a practical tool for the differentiation and presumptive identification of yeast species isolated from salads.

CHROMagar Candida medium was used to study the diversity of yeast biota of salad samples, and to presumptively identify the isolates. This medium was originally developed for the selective isolation and presumptive identification of some clinically important yeast species such as Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Candida krusei, and Candida glabrata on the basis of differences in colour and surface of colonies. Ninety three yeast strains representing 33 species from the culture collection and 39 fresh isolates from different mayonnaise-based mixed salads showed a wide range of hue of colony colours ranging from white to yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, green, etc., as well as different morphological appearances on the CHROMagar Candida medium. Therefore, CHROMagar Candida medium facilitates the detection of mixtures of yeast species from different samples on a single isolation plate and this medium can be a practical method for the differentiation and rapid presumptive identification of many yeast species occurring frequently in different kind of foods.