Abstract
Food safety is a fundamental requirement in mass catering, as large numbers of meals are served each day to potentially vulnerable consumers, such as children. Food Business Operators implement plans for the microbiological monitoring of the meals prepared and served in the catering sector, and for the swab-sampling of surfaces. From January 2018 to June 2019, our laboratory analyzed both food and swab samples from four catering facilities. Considering the EFSA 2018 data, we specifically focused on samples analyzed for Bacillus cereus. Our data substantially showed episodic contamination due to a piece of equipment that is not usually subjected to microbiological control, thus suggesting that every aspect should be scrutinized in order to identify critical points. While Bacillus cereus is widespread in nature and common in soil, it is adapted for growth in the intestinal tracts of insects and mammals. It is often present in a variety of foods, and may cause an emetic or a diarrheal type of food-associated illness. B. cereus produces several toxins. Multiplex PCR enables seven toxin genes to be detected (hblC, hblD, hblA, nheA, nheB, nheC and cytK).
Highlights
Considering the EFSA 2018 data, we focused on samples analyzed for Bacillus cereus
While Bacillus cereus is widespread in nature and common in soil, it is adapted for growth in the intestinal tracts of insects and mammals
Food-borne diseases are usually infectious or toxic pathologies caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water
Summary
Food-borne diseases are usually infectious or toxic pathologies caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water. B. cereus causes two kinds of food-borne disease: an emetic syndrome due to the ingestion of a toxin (cereulide) pre-formed in the food, and a diarrheal syndrome due to the ingestion of bacterial cells or spores which produce enterotoxins in the small intestine [5]. According to recent European epidemiological data [8], many cases of food-borne diseases were registered in 2017. Those caused by bacterial toxins (except C. botulinum), were especially related to the consumption of animal by-products and ready-to-eat dishes. We describe a case of occasional contamination of food by B. cereus in a facility preparing school meals. The case was observed during routine microbiological checks, and detection of enterotoxigenic virulence factors was performed at the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Mezzogiorno
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