Phenotypic characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from foods of animal origin and other related sources

Abstract

The genus Staphylococcus spp. includes bacterial species that are opportunistic pathogens of humans and domestic animals as well. These microorganisms are commonly found on the skin and nasal cavities (Bannerman, 2003). These microorganisms are involved in several cases of food poisoning since some strains produce enterotoxins (Hasan, Hassawi, Al-Daghistani, & Hawari, 2014; Nitzsche, Zweifel, & Stephan, 2007). These enterotoxins are heat resistant. Therefore, once preformed are not eliminated during the thermal processing of food (Carmo et al., 2002) such as pasteurization of milk. Staphylococcal enterotoxins are detectable in food when Staphylococcus aureus counts are above 10 5 CFU/ml or