*2.7. Statistical Analysis*

Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS [39]. An ANOVA model was used with sample (C, A, AP, P) and time (T0, T1, T2, T3) as the fixed factors. The replicate effect was found not significant and removed from the model. The differences in the means were detected using the Tukey's test and considered significant when *p* < 0.05. The effects of formulation on the growth of the target micro-organisms were evaluated with the DMFit tool of the free predictive microbiology software Combase (https://www.combase.cc/ index.php/en/DMFit, accessed on 20 June 2022), allowing for the definition of growth parameters such as lag phase duration (λ, 1/h) and maximum growth rate (μmax, 1/h) by means of the Baranyi and Roberts model [40]. The fitted results were analyzed by one-way ANOVA (with the sample as a fixed variable) and Tukey's test (*p* < 0.05).
