Rapid and reliable identification of Staphylococcus aureus harbouring the enterotoxin gene cluster (egc) and quantitative detection in raw milk by real time PCR

► A TaqMan and a SYBR Green rt-PCR assay targeting the S. aureus egc were developed. ► They proved to be quick and reliable for screening egc+S. aureus isolates. ► The assays accurately quantified egc+S. aureus in artificially contaminated raw milk. ► The SYBR assay showed slightly more sensitivity than the TaqMan assay. ► Both assays showed high specificity and quantitative accuracy on real milk samples.