@article{article_1010007, title={Investigation of Toxin-Producing and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacillus cereus in Spices Used in the Production of Sucuk}, journal={Avrupa Bilim ve Teknoloji Dergisi}, pages={331–340}, year={2021}, DOI={10.31590/ejosat.1010007}, author={Çetin, Ece and Yaman, Görkem and Yıbar, Artun}, keywords={Baharat, Sucuk, Bacillus cereus, Çoklu antibiyotik direnci, Toksin üretimi, MALDİ-TOF}, abstract={In this study, a total of 100 samples of seven types of spices were investigated to determine the presence of toxin-producing and multiple antibiotic-resistant Bacillus cereus and other food-borne microorganisms. The spices tested included 18 samples of ground black pepper (Piper nigrum), 17 samples of red pepper (Capsicum frutescens), 12 samples of ground red pepper (Capsicum frutescens), 20 samples of cummin (Cuminum cyminum), 16 samples of pimento (Pimenta dioica), nine samples of garlic powder (Allium sativum) and eight samples of sucuk spice mixes that were obtained from various retail shops and sucuk production units in the Bursa province between January and December 2014. These spices are used to prepare sucuk because of their flavouring and seasoning properties. The samples were analysed for Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., yeast, moulds and coliforms. For the identification of B. cereus, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS, Germany) was used. The analysis showed that the samples had coliform, yeast and mould and B. cereus counts between <10 and 1.1x105 cfu/g, 1x102 and 9.3x104 cfu/g, and 1x102 and 4.8x104 cfu/g, respectively. Furthermore, coagulase-positive S. aureus was identified in five samples, E. coli was identified in two samples, and Salmonella spp. was identified in none. A total of 39 (92.8%) B. cereus isolates were resistant to two or more antibiotic agents. In addition, 31 (73.8%) B. cereus isolates tested positive for production of both non-haemolytic enterotoxin (NHE) and haemolysin BL (HBL) enterotoxins. These results show that some spices contain harmful microorganisms. To reduce microbial counts and to improve poor microbiological quality in spices, hygiene programmes must be corrected in the pre- and post-harvesting period.}, number={31}, publisher={Osman SAĞDIÇ}