STAPHYLOCOCCAL FOOD POISONING OUTBREAKS IN SAO-PAULO (BRAZIL)

Six staphylococcal food poisoning outbreaks in Sao Paulo were investig ated, the implicated foods being cream-filed cake (4 outbreaks), gnocc hi (1 outbreak) and ice-cream (1 outbreak). The foods were examined fo r the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterotoxin . Staphylococcal counts of 107 to 109 cfu/g were recorded for all food s except the ice-cream from which no staphylococci were isolated. The staphylococci isolated from the foods produced enterotoxin A, and all foods samples contained enterotoxin A, the most common cause of staphy lococcal food poisoning.