Incidence of toxigenic Bacillus cereus in ready-to-eat fermented foods in Osogbo, Nigeria: a potential health risk.

Authors

Oluwafemi Bamidele Daramola, Richard Kolade Omole, Tomiwa Olumide Adesoji, Alabi Peter Dare, Ifeoluwa Victoria Daramola, Nana Aishat Yusuf-Omoloye, Aduragbemi Chukwuwem Emmanuel, Oluwawemimo Precious Owoeye, Adedotun Emmanuel Adekola, Nkem Torimiro

Published in

BMC microbiology. Jul 13, 2026. Epub Jul 13, 2026.

Abstract

Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is one of several foodborne pathogens that continue to threaten the safety of ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, including fermented foods. A few studies have identified the presence of enterotoxigenic gene-encoding B. cereus in several southwestern states of Nigeria. However, Osun State remains the only southwestern state without data on the potential presence of enterotoxigenic gene-encoding B. cereus. In this study, a preliminary investigation was carried out using a convenience sampling method at three highly patronized locations (Shasha, Orisumbare, and Oja-Oba) of RTE fermented foods in Osogbo, Nigeria. Thirty-two samples comprising six varieties of RTE fermented foods (pap, iru, gari, fufu, kunu, and soy wara) were collected and analyzed for Bacillus species. Recovered Bacillus species were subjected to hemolysis test. Hemolytic Bacillus species were screened for enterotoxin gene operons (nheABC and hblACD) and antibiotic susceptibility. A total of 33 Bacillus species were recovered from the RTE fermented foods, among which four showed hemolytic properties. Furthermore, PCR screening showed three Bacillus isolates encoding nhe genes, and two encoding both nhe and hbl genes. 16 S rRNA nucleotide sequencing identified the three isolates as B. cereus. The three B. cereus isolates were resistant to β-lactam antibiotics (penicillin, cefadroxil, cefoxitin, and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid), trimethoprim, and fusidic acid; however, they were susceptible to gentamicin, linezolid, and chloramphenicol, and had a multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of 0.64. This study identified the presence of enterotoxigenic genes in B. cereus recovered from RTE fermented foods sold in Osogbo, Nigeria, a potential food safety risk that requires in-depth surveillance.

PMID:
42437884
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.