Occurrence of Bacillus cereus in beef burger marketed in Tehran, capital of Iran

Introduction: Beef burgers made in Iran contain various compounds such as meat, cereals flour, as well as some spices which can be contaminated with Bacillus cereus, causing gastroenteritis in the consumer. This study is focused on occurrence of B.cereus in beef burgers marketed in Tehran, capital of Iran. Methods and Results: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 80 samples of different types of beef burgers marketed in Tehran, Iran were randomly collected based on their percentage of meat content, including 30% (n=25), 60% (n=40) as well as 90% (n=15). The samples were analyzed microbiologically by routine culture assay and biochemical tests to find B.cereus. Data were analyzed statistically by Microsoft Office Excel 2010.  Twenty-five out of 80 (31.25%) beef burger samples were contaminated by B. cereus. Based on the percentage of meat content in the samples, the beef burger with 90% meat were significantly (p<0.05) more contaminated than the others. Also, the contamination rate was significantly (p<0.05) higher in summer compared to winter. Conclusion: This survey showed that the beef burgers supplied in Iran markets is main source of B.cereus that can cause disease in Iranian consumers. More attempts must be focused on cold-chain maintenance in production, distribution, and storage of the meat products