Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus spp. isolated from retail cheese, ready-to-eat salads, ham, and raw meat

• 312 strains of Enterococcus spp. were identified from 1315 food specimens.
• Antibiotic susceptibility was evaluated for all strains of Enterococcus spp.
• Great part of isolates were sensitive to antibiotics of clinical importance.
• Low percentages of strains were resistant to vancomycin and teicoplanin.
• Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis were highly resistant to tetracycline.

Food specimens were analyzed in order to research Enterococcus spp.: 636 samples of raw meat (227 beef, 238 poultry, and 171 pork), 278 samples of cheese (110 fresh soft cheese and 168 mozzarella cheese), 214 samples of ready-to-eat salads, and 187 samples of ham. 312 strains of Enterococcus spp samples were isolated, then identified and submitted to susceptibility tests against 11 antimicrobial agents. The predominant species were Enterococcus faecalis in raw meat and Enterococcus faecium in retail products. Low percentages of microorganisms were resistant to vancomycin (3.53%), teicoplanin (2.24%), linezolid (0.32%), and amoxicillin in combination with clavulanic acid (0.32%). A high percentage of resistance was noted in E. faecalis at high level gentamicin (21.9%) and tetracycline (60.6%). In general, strains of E. faecalis were more resistant than E. faecium.Enterococci should be considered not only potential pathogens, but also a reservoir of genes encoding antibiotic resistance which can be transferred to other microorganisms. Continuous monitoring of their incidence and emerging resistance is important in order to identify foods which potentially represent a real risk to the population, and to ensure effective treatment of human enterococcal infections.