Rose Bengal Medium (Rose Bengal Agar) is a selective fungal culture medium designed for the detection and enumeration of molds and yeasts in food.
Formulated with peptone as nitrogen source, glucose as carbon source, potassium dihydrogen phosphate and magnesium sulfate as mineral supplements, agar as solidifying agent, rose bengal and chloramphenicol as selective agents. Rose bengal restricts the rapid spreading of mold colonies for easier counting, while chloramphenicol suppresses the growth of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to avoid overgrowth interference.
