Detection of Gene Encoding Enterotoxin A in Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Cream Pastries

Staphylococcus aureus has always been known as an important kind of bacteria causing food poisoning. This study was carried out to determine S. aureus contamination in cream pastries collected from popular confectioneries in Hamedan, Iran; also, presence of the gene encoding Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A (SEA) was studied in the isolates.
During April to October 2014 (as hot and dry seasons) and October to March 2015 (as cold and wet seasons), 80 puff pastry and 80 jelly roll samples were randomly purchased from confectionary markets of Hamedan, Iran. S. aureus colonies were isolated using culture media and identified by biochemical tests. Polymerase Chain Reaction was used for confirming identification of S. aureus using femA gene and detection of sea gene encoding the SEA. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 16.0.
Out of 160 confectionary samples, 61 (38.1%) were contaminated with S. aureus. Among 61 S. aureus isolates, 16 (26.2%) contained the sea gene. Prevalence rates of S. aureus in the hot/dry and cold/wet seasons were 43.7% (35 out of 80) and 32.5% (26 out of 80), respectively showing significant difference (p0.05).
Our results indicated a considerable level of contamination in puff pastry and jelly roll samples with enterotoxigenic S. aureus, which could be due to microbial contamination of raw materials such as cream and utensils used for pastry production and lack of personal hygiene of workers. Consequently, appropriate measures should be applied to reduce the level of contamination in the confectionary products in order to ensure public health safety.