The formation of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin in food environments and advances in risk assessment

Abstract

The recent finding that the formation of staphylococcalenterotoxins in food is very different from that in cultures ofpure Staphylococcus aureus sheds new light on, and bringsinto question, traditional microbial risk assessment methodsbased on planktonic liquid cultures. In fact, most bacteria infood appear to be associated with surfaces or tissues in variousways, and interaction with other bacteria through molecularsignaling is prevalent. Nowadays it is well established thatthere are significant differences in the behavior of bacteriain the planktonic state and immobilized bacteria found inmulticellular communities. Thus, in order to improve theproduction of high-quality, microbiologically safe food forhuman consumption, in situ data on enterotoxin formationin food environments are required to complement existingknowledge on the growth and survivability of S. aureus. Thisreview focuses on enterotoxigenic S. aureus and describesrecent findings related to enterotoxin formation in foodenvironments, and ways in which risk assessment can takeinto account virulence behavior. An improved understandingof how environmental factors affect the expression ofenterotoxins in foods will enable us to formulate new strategiesfor improved food safety. © 2011 Landes Bioscience.