Prevalence and characterization of antibiotic resistant Enterococcus faecalis in French cheeses

► Prevalence and antibiotic resistance profiles of enterococci in retail French cheeses. ► Raw-milk cheeses contain higher levels of enterococci. ► Most common resistances are to tetracyclines followed by erythromycin and kanamycin. ► Antibiotic resistant E. faecalis ST19, CC21, CC25 and CC55 isolates are prevalent. ► Cheeses are not a major reservoir for multi-resistant clinical enterococci.