Hands-on learning for probiotic quality assessment: enhancing microbiology education through applied microbial counting techniques.

ABSTRACT: The microbial plate count continues to be an essential technique in food microbiology research and quality control. In food science education, this technique is often taught through traditional fact-based methods, requiring students to follow pre-established protocols. This approach may not fully engage students or enhance their problem-solving skills. Eighty-two final-year Food Science and Technology bachelor's students at the University of Milan were asked to combine their knowledge on general microbiology and microbial physiology for quality assessment of different probiotic products, including freeze-dried cells, fermented milk, and bacterial spore suspension. They were required to select the appropriate culture media, incubation conditions, and treatments based on flow cytometry cell

SUBMITTER: Mangieri N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12020796 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature