Incidence of Staphylococcus aureus and its Enterotoxins in Chicken Meat and its Products

Abstract

Chicken meat are being widely consumed as they contain high protein and a healthier unsaturated fat type. Chicken burger represent a consumer palatable chicken product. Both chicken and its products are liable to different types of contamination during their preparation and processing. Contamination by Staphylococcus aureus and its enterotoxins poses a major public health hazard to chicken meat consumes. During this study 100 different samples of chicken fillet, deboned thigh, wing, mechanically deboned meat (MDM) and chicken burger (20 each) were collected from market and investigated for their S. aureus count and ability of the isolated strains to produce enterotoxins using conventional plating and isolation technique as well as using SET-RPLA toxin detection kit. Results revealed that mean values of S. aureus count in all samples exceeded the permissible limits and hence being unacceptable. MDM isolated exhibited staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) production of three different types SEA, SEC and SED. Meanwhile chicken burger S. aureus isolates produced only SEA and SEC enterotoxins. While isolated S. aureus from chicken fillet and deboned thigh didn’t exhibit any enterotoxin production activity. It’s recommended to follow the hygienic practices during different processing stages to avoid the risk of S. aureus and its enterotoxins.