Psychrotolerant Bacillus cereus: An emerging pathogen from foodborne diseases

Abstract

Bacillus cereus is a foodborne pathogen which has become a concern to food industries due to its ability to produce spores. The high resistance of the spores against heat, radiation, and chemical agents allows them to survive much longer during food processing and sanitising treatments, and causes recontamination of the products. Furthermore, the emergence of psychrotolerant B. cereus species able to grow and proliferate at refrigeration temperatures has raised concerns for food industries as it shows enhanced germination at low temperatures which makes the problem associated with chilled and minimally processed foods much more complicated. Temperature discrepancies often occur during transportation and storing of chilled foods at retail and consumer’s homes, which provide more favourable conditions for the spores to germinate into active cells. The present review therefore highlights the current scientific knowledge associated with this pathogen, including an introduction on the characteristics, classification, sources, virulence, and foods associated with it, as well as the clinical syndromes and preventive measures to control and mitigate foodborne diseases it causes.