Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella are major food borne pathogens of great public health concern worldwide. In the study PCR protocol was standardized for the detection of these organisms using oligonucleotide primers targeted against nuc gene of S.aureus and inv A gene of Salmonella spp. Specificity of primers was tested using reference strains (MTCC 1144 and MTCC 98) and other bacterial strains including E.coli, E.coli O157:H7 and V. parahaemolyticus. PCR detection on artificially inoculated beef samples showed a sensitivity value up to 1 cfu/g for both organisms. Out of 190 beef samples, 99 (52.10%) tested positive by culture method and 109 (57.36%) by PCR for S. aureus. With respect to Salmonella spp., rate of occurrence was 29.47% (n=56) and 36.31% (n=66) by culture method and PCR respectively. The high percentage of occurrence of S. aureus and Salmonella spp. highlights the need to improve the sanitation and hygiene procedures at all levels from production to the consumption of meat.
