EC Nutrition

Introduction

Bacillus cereus is a foodborne pathogen. It is a Gram-positive Bacillus featuring a non-bulging central spore. It has the ability to ex- press many powerful toxins like Cereulide, Non-hemolytic enterotoxin, Hemolysin BL and Cytotoxin K. Foods responsible for Bacillus cereus food poisoning are rice, chowmein and chicken preparations. Different foods elaborate different types of toxins after harbour- ing the Bacillus. Cases are more common in some regions of the world and comparatively less common in some other regions. These have been reviewed here in some detail.

Keywords

Food; Bacillus cereus; Cereulide; Emetic Syndrome; Diarrheal Syndrome; Enterotoxins; Detection; Food Safety

1. Peter Demin. “Fascinating Bacillus cereus” (2026).
2. Abdul ME and Pavoni E. “Bacillus cereus in food safety: a bibliometric analysis”. Frontiers in Microbiology 16 (2025): 1574802.
3. Food Safety Institute. “Bacillus cereus: Food poisoning mechanisms and control measures” (2026).
4. Kramer JM and Gilbert RJ. “Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus species”. In Foodborne Bacterial Pathogens Doyle, M.P., Ed. Marcel Dekker Inc.: New York, NY, USA (1989): 21-50.
5. Yang S., et al. “Cereulide and emetic Bacillus cereus: Characterizations, impacts and public precautions”. Foods 4 (2023): 833.
6. Rajkovic A., et al. “Heat resistance of Bacillus cereus emetic toxin, cereulide”. Letters in Applied Microbiology 5 (2008): 536-541.
7. Dietrich R., et al. “The food poisoning toxins of Bacillus cereus”. Toxins2 (2021): 98.
8. Beecher DJ., et al. “Enterotoxic activity of hemolysin BL from Bacillus cereus”. Infection and Immunity 11 (1995): 4423-4428.
9. Centre of Food Safety. “Bacillus cereus in fried rice” (2026).
10. “Cereulide” (2026).
11. EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ). “Risks for public health related to the presence of Bacillus cereus and other Bacillus including Bacillus thuringiensis in foodstuffs”. EFSA Journal 14.7 (2017): e04524.
12. micro master. “Product specification sheet” (2026).
13. Bottone EJ. “Bacillus cereus, a volatile human pathogen”. Clinical Microbiology Reviews 2 (2010): 382-398.
14. “Cereus selective agar” (2026).
15. Sanchez- Chica J., et al. “A novel method for direct detection of Bacillus cereus toxin genes in powdered dairy products”. International Dairy Journal 103 (2020): 104625.
16. “AccuPower Bacillus cereus Real-Time PCR Kit” (2026).
17. Oliwa‐Stasiak K., et al. “Development of a PCR assay for identification of the Bacillus cereus group species”. Journal of Applied Microbiology1 (2010): 266-273.
18. Premkrishnan B., et al. “The genomic characterisation and comparison of Bacillus cereus strains isolated from indoor air”. Gut Pathogens 13 (2021): 6.
19. Ramarao N., et al. “Advanced methods for detection of Bacillus cereus and its pathogenic factors”. Sensors (Basel)9 (2020): 2667.