Interactive effects of growth medium, cryoprotector and starvation treatment on bacterial survival during the storage of freeze-dried lactic acid bacteria have been studied.

The optimal medium for the growth of lactics was chosen by detecting the number, size of colony and the size of calcium dissolving zone when the bacteria grew in different solid and semisolid medium.

Therciore, either the modified MC or the modified TJA me - dia can be used as a rapid cheap method for the enumeration of lactic acid bacteria in foods.