Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a Gram positive, facultatively aerobic spore-former. The spores of B. cereus are heat resistant to general heat and chemical treatment and thus food poisoning cases have been reported even for cooked or treated food. If B. cereus grows in food, it can cause foodborne illness in humans, which is vomiting very shortly after eating contaminated food or diarrhea after a longer incubation.

Meats including siu mei or lo mei, milk, vegetables, and fishes have been found to be associated with B. cereus food poisoning. Starchy foods, such as rice, fried rice, potatoes, pasta and cheese products are also commonly associated with B. cereus toxin outbreaks. If contaminated food store in ambient temperature for an extended time, B. cereus will grow and produce a toxin that is heat stable and will not be inactivated during subsequent cooking.

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Ref.: CFS, HONG KONG

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Enviro Labs - HOKLAS Accredited Methods:

US FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual Online (BAM online), Chapter 14, 2012
Bacillus Cereus Rapid Agar (BACARA) without confirmation
Bacillus Cereus Rapid Agar (BACARA) - AFNOR Validation Certificate no. AES-10/10-7/10