Identification of Foodborne Yeasts

Abstract

Improvements in identification procedures for yeasts lag behind recent developments in taxonomy. Sophisticated genetical and biochemical methods cannot be used in routine identification of yeasts. In foods representing specific and often selective ecological niches for yeasts, usually a restricted number of species are present, and for these a simplified identification key has been devised based only on 10 to 15 tests. Yeasts representing 215 species reported to be present in foods are included in a key, and methods of simplified identification are described.