Enterotoxigenic structures of Bacillus cereus strains isolated from ice creams

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the presence of Bacillus cereus in ice cream samples and to identify associated toxin genes by mPCR. 125 ice cream samples were used as material. A total of 38 samples were found to be positive for B. cereus. It was found that 31.9% of the isolates had three enterotoxic HBL complex encoding genes, 10.6% had two hbl genes and 6.3% contained one hbl gene. On the other hand, 15.9% of the isolates contained three NHE complex encoding genes, 31.9% had two nhe genes and 20.2% contained one nhe gene. Also 7.4% of isolates were found to contain both NHE and HBL complexes while ctyK1 was not detected from any isolate. The presence of B. cereus and their enterotoxigenic genes in ice creams may be a potential risk for public health. Practical applications The presence of the B.cereus in high numbers and the toxins in foods pose a potential risk in terms of health and food spoilage. In food poisoning cases, hbl, nhe, cytK, and the effect of emetic toxin are especially notable. The resistance of spores against pasteurization and psychrotolerant feature enable the explanation of the existence of B. cereus in ice‐cream.

Toxigenic Genes, Pathogenic Potential and Antimicrobial Resistance of Bacillus cereus Group Isolated from Ice Cream and Characterized by Whole Genome Sequencing

“…Spores and vegetative cells of the B. cereus group are ubiquitous in the environment and, therefore, are commonly found in different kinds of unprocessed food [ 7 ]. Spores may survive the intense processing of dehydrated foods and the pasteurization temperature [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 31 ]. and they can also germinate, and reproduce at low temperatures due to the psychotropic feature [ 31 , 32 ].…”

“…Spores may survive the intense processing of dehydrated foods and the pasteurization temperature [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 31 ]. and they can also germinate, and reproduce at low temperatures due to the psychotropic feature [ 31 , 32 ]. These challenges make B. cereus a very important and frequently encountered bacterium in the food industry [ 31 , 33 ].…”

“…and they can also germinate, and reproduce at low temperatures due to the psychotropic feature [ 31 , 32 ]. These challenges make B. cereus a very important and frequently encountered bacterium in the food industry [ 31 , 33 ]. The presence of B. cereus s.l.…”

“…The presence of B. cereus s.l. and their toxins in foods poses a potential risk for food spoilage and to public health [ 31 , 32 ]. B. cereus s.l.…”

Pathogenicity of Feed-Borne Bacillus Cereus and Its Implication on Food Safety

“…The worldwide distribution of B. cereus can be identified in a number of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, raw milk and dairy products, meat and meat products, spices, peas, beans, dried foods, raw and cooked vegetables, potatoes, eggs, vanilla, sauces, custards, soups, ice cream and in various cereals especially in rice (Eglezos et al 2010;Abdou et al 2012;Abraha et al 2017;Cadirci et al 2018). The prevalence of food poisoning cases in humans worldwide are summarized in Table 1.…”