Occurrence of Toxigenic Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis in Doenjang, a Korean Fermented Soybean Paste

This study determined the prevalence and toxin profile of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis in doenjang, a fermented soybean food, made using both traditional and commercial methods. The 51 doenjang samples tested were broadly contaminated with B. cereus; in contrast, only one sample was positive for B. thuringiensis. All B. cereus isolates from doenjang were positive for diarrheal toxin genes. The frequencies of nheABC and hblACD in traditional samples were 22.7 and 0%, respectively, whereas 5.1 and 5.1% of B. cereus isolates from commercial samples possessed nheABC and hblACD, respectively. The detection rate of ces gene was 10.8%. The predominant toxin profile among isolates from enterotoxigenic B. cereus in doenjang was profile 4 (entFM-bceT-cytK). The major enterotoxin genes in emetic B. cereus were cytK, entFM, and nheA genes. The B. thuringiensis isolate was of the diarrheagenic type. These results provide a better understanding of the epidemiology of the enterotoxigenic and emetic B. cereus groups in Korean fermented soybean products.