Kareish cheese is considered among the most important dairy products in Egypt. It is of a high nutritive value and supports part of the human needs of protein, vitamins, and minerals. This study aimed at estimation of most probable number (MPN) of coliforms and E. coli and investigation of the prevalence of shiga toxin producing E. coli in kareish cheese collected from grocery stores and street vendors at Mansoura city, Egypt. In addition, molecular confirmation, and detection of shiga toxin coding genes (stx1, and stx2) in the recovered E. coli isolates was done using PCR. Moreover, the inhibitory effects of potassium sorbate (KS) and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis on the growth of E. coli O26 were screened. The estimated MPN of coliforms and E. coli in kareish cheese collected from grocery stores were 3.44 ± 0.12 and 2.22 ± 0.14. These values were 4.61 ± 0.11 and 3.60 ± 0.25 in samples collected from street vendors. The prevalence rates of E. coli were 20%, and 60% in kareish cheese samples collected from grocery stores and street vendors, respectively. The identified E. coli serotypes were E.