Occurrence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Cheese Produced in German Farm-Dairies

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine if raw milk cheese or cheese to be made out of heated milk, manufactured in small German cheese dairies might be a reservoir of contaminations with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Due to predominantly manual handling during cheese making, recontaminations with Staphylococcus (S.) aureus or MRSA cannot be excluded. Commercial cheese products (n = 72) available in the region of Hanover (Lower Saxony) and dairy products offered via internet were analyzed with regard to the occurrence of S. aureus and MRSA. Thereof, two cheese samples, manufactured from pasteurized milk and two samples, produced from raw milk, were S. aureus positive with CFU/g between 1.0 × 10 1 and 7.0 × 10 1 . MRSA was not detected. All analysed cheese samples could be considered safe for consuming.