We investigated the presence of enterotoxigenic and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a kitchen of a catering firm by collecting 100 food samples and 100 utensil-equipment samples after sanitation. Additional 186 samples in total were collected by swabbing the mouths, noses and hands of 62 kitchen staff members during working hours. The isolation of S. aureus was performed using a culture method and verified by using a genetic method (PCR). The presence of toxin genes and the toxic shock syndrome gene (tst) was analyzed by PCR. ELISA was used to investigate whether the isolates bearing a toxin gene that produces enterotoxin or not. In this research we obtained 1930 isolates from 386 samples. Using molecular typing by PCR, 842 Staphylococcus spp. were found of which 307 (36.4 %) were identified as S. aureus. 198 (64.4 %) of the S. aureus strains were identified as CoA positive and 89 (28.9 %) as MRSA. Our data demonstrate the presence of MRSA and enterotoxigenic S. aureus in a catering kitchen providing daycare and hospital refectories. Given the facts that the rate of kitchen staff members contaminated with enterotoxigenic strains was rather high and that the kitchen contained S. aureus even after sanitation and that there was uneducated staff and insufficient hygiene practices aroused suspicions of the presence of biofilms and/or multi-resistant strains which could manifest a serious public health concern.

Cronobacter spp. are gram-negative, asporogenous, motile bacilli included in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Due to the opportunistic nature of these bacteria they may induce several clinical symptoms in different age groups. High mortality rates were documented especially in the newborns (

The existence of antibiotic residues in food causes serious health problems in humans. This study aims to determine antibiotic residues in honey intended for consumption. Evidence Investigator™ Biochip Array technology enables simultaneous quantitative detection of multiple analytes on a single sample. The Anti Microbial Array IV test kit is used in simultaneously detecting the quantity of 12 different groups of antimicrobials in honey samples. A competitive chemiluminescent immunoassay was employed for the detection of antimicrobials. The light signal produced from each test region on the biochip was detected using digital imaging technology. In this study, a total of 45 honey samples including 5 brands of honey and 40 local honey were analyzed. The honey samples were simultaneously screened for 12 different types of antibiotic residues by using the Evidence Investigator™ Anti Microbial Array IV test kit. In the honey samples examined, residues of erythromycin, streptomycin, amikacin, lincosamides, tylosin B and neomycin were detected. 91% of samples involved erythromycin residues whereas 15% of the local samples included streptomycin residues above the recommended concentration.

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This study aims to determine the microbiological quality and histamine levels of fresh-marketed rainbow trouts (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The total mesophilic aerobic bacteria (TMAB), total psychrophilic aerobic bacteria (TPAB), coliform, fecal coliform, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Staphylococcus-Micrococcus and mold-yeast numbers were detected as 4.24, 4.00, 1.10, 0.17, 1.50, 3.05, 0.28 and 3.82 log10 cfu/g, respectively. Yersinia enterocolitica, Listeria monocytogenes, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Vibrio spp bacteria were found in 18 (37.5%), 14 (29.1%), 8 (16.6%) and 14 (29.1%) respectively. Twenty-eight out of 51 Listeria isolates (54.9%) were verified through PCR analysis as L. monocytogenes. It was determined that the histamine level in the samples was above the detectable level (>2.5 mg/kg) in 8 of the samples (16.6%)determined using an ELISA method. It was concluded that the detection of foodborne pathogens in fresh-marketed fish samples potentially constitutes a public health hazard.