Development of an efficient real-time PCR assay to quantify enterotoxin-producing staphylococci in meat products

A SYBR Green-based real-time PCR (qPCR) procedure for the rapid and specific detection of enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus spp. in meat products has been developed. For this, a specific primer pair based on conserved regions of enterotoxin genes was designed for detecting most of the described staphylococcal enterotoxins. No cross-reactivity with other microorganisms or non-enterotoxin-producing Staphylococcus spp. was detected. The detection limits of the assay were about 2-40 cfu/g for artificially contaminated meat products after 8 h enrichment period at 30 °C. Total time for assay completion was approximately 12 h. Thus, the qPCR method offers a useful, rapid and efficient tool for screening enterotoxin-producing Staphylococci in meat products. This tool could be also used for monitoring these foodborne pathogens in food safety preventive programs.