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Review
Staphylococcus aureus and food poisoning
Yves Le Loir, Florence Baron and Michel Gautier
Laboratoire de Microbiologie UMR1055, Ecole Nationale Supérieure
Agronomique de Rennes, Institut Nationale de la Recherche Agronomique,
65, rue de Saint Brieuc, CS84215, 35042 Rennes cedex, France
Corresponding author: Y. Le Loir
E-mail: [email protected]
Genet. Mol. Res. 2 (1): 63-76 (2003)
Received November 27, 2002
Published March 31, 2003

ABSTRACT. Food-borne diseases are of major concern worldwide. To date, around 250 different food-borne diseases have been described, and bacteria are the causative agents of two thirds of food-borne disease outbreaks. Among the predominant bacteria involved in these diseases, Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of gastroenteritis resulting from the consumption of contaminated food. Staphylococcal food poisoning is due to the absorption of staphylococcal enterotoxins preformed in the food. Here, we briefly review the latest data on staphy-lococcal enterotoxins and some papers exemplifying the interactions between S. aureus and the food matrix; environmental factors affecting staphylococcal enterotoxin production are discussed.

Key words: Staphylococcus aureus, Food poisoning, Enterotoxins, Food matrix

 

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