Food security and safety mismatch in low-income settings: Evidence from milk produced by smallholders in semiarid Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil

Abstract Small-scale dairy production plays a relevant socioeconomic role contributing to improve food security in low income rural settings, such as semiarid Brazil. Milk is mainly supplied to local communities, either distributed by government programs to schools and day-care units, or commercialized privately to final consumers or cheesemakers. However, there is a lack of information about the potential public health hazards associated with milk. The aim of this study was to investigate antimicrobial resistance phenotypes, the presence of enterotoxin-encoding genes and genotypic relatedness of Staphylococcus spp. from raw milk samples in the semi-arid Paraiba. High antimicrobial resistant rates were observed for beta-lactams, including penicillin, ampicillin and ceftazidime. Although 14% of the isolates were phenotypically resistant to oxacillin, mecA gene was not detected among S. aureus. Almost 50% of the isolates harbored at least one enterotoxin-encoding gene. Higher genotypic relatedness was observed among staphylococci from closely-related farms, suggesting geographic spread of certain strains. In order to prevent potential microbiological risks related to milk consumption in the region, continuous efforts towards the improvement of raw milk quality are encouraged, including good production practices, such as those related to milk refrigeration on the farms and efficient pasteurization.