INCIDENCE OF BACILLUS CEREUS IN SOME FOOD STUFFS WITH THE SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ITS PRODUCTION OF THERMONUCLEASE ENZYME IN ASSIUT CITY

samples of meat and milk products (40 total of 200 random A samples of lunchoen, susage, kareish cheese, ice cream and yoghurt)
The samples were examined Assiut city.
from collected were
bacteriologically to enumerate and isolate Bacillus cereus using surface plating technique on KG agar plates. Bacillus cereus was found in 20 (50%); 23(57%); 15(37.5%) and 34(85%) samples of lunchoen, susage, kareish cheese and ice cream with a mean values of 3.8 10°, 5 X 10, 1.52 X 109 and 4.5 X 10cfu/g or ml, respectively. Bacillus cereus could not be isolated from yoghurt. 55.43% of isolated Bacillus cereus produce thermolabile Deoxyribonuclease at PH (9) while 14.13% produce it at pH (6.7). On the other hand thermostable Deoxyribonuclease activated only at PH(9) with incidence of 3.26%. All Bacillus cereus strains were highly senstive to bacitracin, chlormephenicol, erythromycin, gentamycin, kanamycin, neomycin, streptomycin and tetracycline, whereas all isolates were resistant to colistin and pencillin. The puplic health importance and sanitary measures to minimize contamination of food stuffs with Bacillus cereus are discussed.