# Fermented Cashew Nut Cheese Alternative Supplemented with _Chondrus crispus_ and _Porphyra_ sp.
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Microbial Load
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c} \hline \hline
**Microbiological Parameters** & **Control** & **Supplemental Products** \\
**(Log CFU\(\cdot\)g\({}^{-1}\))** & **FCNCA-C** & **FCNCA-CC** & **FCNCA-P** \\ \hline _Enterococcus_ & 4.48 \(\pm\) 000 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 4.48 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 4.48 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\ LAB & 6.56 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 5.48 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 5.48 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ AMB & 7.83 \(\pm\) 0.86 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 7.36 \(\pm\) 0.80 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 7.48 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\text{c}}\) \\ MAC & \(\angle\)2 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 6.18 \(\pm\) 1.63 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 6.08 \(\pm\) 0.18 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ GYP (Molds) & \textless{}2 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & \textless{}2 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & \textless{}2 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\ GYP (Yeasts) & 3.76 \(\pm\) 1.64 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & \textless{}2 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & \textless{}2 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ _E. coli_ & 2.11 \(\pm\) 0.33 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & \textless{}1 \({}^{\text{b}}\) & 1.9 \(\pm\) 1.89 \({}^{\text{a}}\) \\ TC & 0.7 \(\pm\) 0.15 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 0.7 \(\pm\) 0.15 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 2.57 \(\pm\) 0.00 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ _S. aureus_ & 2.18 \(\pm\) 1.63 \({}^{\text{a}}\) & 2.54 \(\pm\) 0.37 \({}^{\text{a,b}}\) & 2.72 \(\pm\) 0.42 \({}^{\text{b}}\) \\ _Salmonella_ spp. & Absent in 25 g & Absent in 25 g & Absent in 25 g \\ _L. monocytogenes_ & Absent in 25 g & Absent in 25 g & Absent in 25 g \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular} \({}^{\star}\)Counts are expressed as log CFU\(\cdot\)g\({}^{-1}\). Mean \(\pm\) standard deviation (_n_ = 4). Different letters indicate significant differences among treatments. (_p_ < 0.05).  
\end{table} 
Table 5: Levels of _Enterococcus_, Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), aerobic mesophilic bacteria (AMB), marine agar counts (MACs), Glucose-Yeast-Peptone (GYP) molds and yeasts, _Escherichia coli_, total coliforms (TCs), _Staphylococcus aureus_, _Salmonella_ spp., and _Listeria monocytogenes_ for fermented cashew nut cheese alternatives: fermented cashew nut cheese alternative control (FCNCA-C); fermented cashew nut cheese alternative with _Chondrus crispus_ (FCNCA-CC); and fermented cashew nut cheese alternative with _Perphyna_ spp. (FCNCA-P) \({}^{\star}\). C. crispus from the wild and from an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system possess antimicrobial activity against the growth of bacteria such as _E. coli_ and others. Total coliforms (TCs) ranged from 0.7 to 2.57 log CFU-g\({}^{-1}\), revealing differences for FCNCA-C vs. FCNCA-P and FCNCA-CC vs. FCNCA-P (_p_ = 0.0126). The FCNCA-P shows a high content of total coliforms. Counts of coagulase-positive _S. aureus_ reached similar counts between samples, ranging from 2.18 to 2.72 log CFU-g\({}^{-1}\). The statistical analyses revealed significant differences for FCNCA-C vs. FCNCA-P (_p_ = 0.0194). The low values for _S. aureus_ were considered satisfactory from a safety point of view since the production of toxins only occurs at higher counts (>10\({}^{4}\) or 4 log CFU-g\({}^{-1}\)) [14]. Salmonella spp. was absent through the plating count (not present per 25 g). In fact, a US surveillance study shows that the prevalence of _Salmonella_ (95% of confidence interval) in cashew nuts was minimal (0.55%), i.e., it occurred in just 4 of 733 samples [66]. Listeria monocytogenes was also absent through the plating count (not present per 25 g). [PERSON] [67] reported that \"there are no data available on the prevalence of _L. monocytogenes_ in cooked edible nut kernels or any foodborne illness lined to the presence of _L. monocytogenes_ in this kind of product\". On the other hand, LAB, which is one of the best represented groups in the FCNCAs (5.48-6.56 log CFU-g\({}^{-1}\)), has shown bactericidal and bacteriostatic properties against foodborne pathogens such as _Salmonella_ spp. and _L. monocytogenes_[19].