Occurrence and antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus in raw milk and dairy products in Turkey

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In this survey, 150 samples of raw milk, white cheese and ice cream from three different dairy‐processing plants in Ankara were analysed to find out if they were contaminated with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Bacillus cereus. The highest contamination percentages were found in raw milk samples as follows: B. cereus (90%), E. coli (74%) and S. aureus (56%) followed by cheese (70% B. cereus, 60% E. coli, and 48% S. aureus) and ice cream (56% E. coli, 36% S. aureus and 20% B. cereus). The survey showed that 2% of cheese samples were contaminated with E. coli O157. It was also found that the numbers of S. aureus and E. coli in raw milk, cheese and ice cream samples exceeded the numbers permitted under the Turkish Food Codex (TFC). The number of B. cereus in raw milk, cheese and ice cream samples was lower than the limit given in the TFC standards. The study also showed that E. coli and S. aureus exhibit resistance to ampicillin, penicillin, tetracycline, erythromycin, gentamicin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. Escherichia coli isolates also showed resistance to chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin but none of them exhibited resistance to cefotaxime. All S. aureus isolates were found to be susceptible to cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, and ciprofloxacin. Bacillus cereus isolates were found to be resistant to ampicillin, penicillin and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and sensitive to cefotaxime, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin erythromycin, gentamicin and tetracycline.