Staphylococcal enterotoxication results from ingestion of foods containing 1 of 11 immunologically distinct enterotoxins, A, B, C₁, C₂, C₃, D, E, F, G, H and  I. Staphylococcus aureus is heat-labile and it’s enterotoxins are heat-stable^1,2,3, due to presumption enterotoxins culture results for viable bacteria are not sufficient to prove food safety for consumption.
In this study we examined the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal enterrotoxins(SEs) in 60 samples of ready to use foodstuffs that should be free of this organism,obtained from samples were suspected to have foodborne pathogens and referred to FDCLs of Iran. Viable bacteria were detected by culture, and simultaneously enterotoxins by ELISA, using commercial kit for the detection of A, B, C, D, E, F and G enterotoxins, after extraction and purification from the food substrate. Staphylococcus aureus were detected by enrichment method¹⁰. Giolitti cantoni broth was used as enrichment media and Baird Parker agar as selective media. 27 samples were positive in routine culture method and in 38 samples enterotoxins were found by ELISA method. All enterotoxin-positive samples had enterotoxin A and 21 of them enterotoxin B too. Based on the results, the culture method for detection of food contamination is not a definite reliable method, and ELISA method could be preferred, in this respect.