Metabolic activities, enterotoxin production and antibiotic sensitivity of staphylococcus aureus isolated from food processing industrial environment

ABSTRACT

122 coagulase-positive staphylococci strains isolated from food handlers, and representing group A, as well as other 122 strains of the same bacterium isolated from industrial environment, and representing group B, were tested for their physiological and biochemical properties, in addition to their enterotoxigenicity and susceptibility to antibiotics. From the result obtained it was suggested that, food handlers and food processing plant environment may play an important role for cross contamination of foodstuff. No definite correlation could be drawn between the different properties of the isolated strains and their toxigenicity. In general, coagulase, thermonuclease, sugar fermentation and, may be resistance to penicillin together may give better indication of toxigenicity than the other studied characters