This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Donnelly, C. B. Articles by Lewis, K. H. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Donnelly, C. B. Articles by Lewis, K. H. Agricola Articles by Donnelly, C. B. Articles by Lewis, K. H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl Environ Microbiol. 1964 July; 12(4): 311-315
Copyright © 1964 American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Occurrence of Coagulase-Positive Staphylococci in Cheddar Cheese

Milk and Food Research, Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center, U.S. Public Health Service, Cincinnati, Ohio

ABSTRACT

Samples (13) from several lots of cheddar cheese incriminated in staphylococcal food poisoning and 343 samples of cheddar cheese purchased over a 3-year period in retail markets were examined quantitatively for coagulase-positive staphylococci with the smear plate technique. Of the food-poisoning samples, 11 contained coagulase-positive staphylococci in numbers that ranged from 50 to several million per g. Of the 343 market cheese samples, 20% contained coagulase-positive staphylococci in concentrations ranging from less than 50 to more than 200,000 per g. The phage patterns of 64 of 89 cultures isolated from the food-poisoning samples placed them in the miscellaneous phage group (44A) or in phage group IV and the miscellaneous group (42D/44A); 14 had phage patterns that involved group III, the group with which food poisoning has usually been associated. In contrast, over 50% of 104 cultures from the market cheese, which were typed at 100 times the critical test dilution, had phage patterns that involved group III. Of nine selected cultures isolated from the food-poisoning cheese, three (all in phage group III) were positive for enterotoxin by intravenous injection test of cats.