en تخصصي Special Original article Original article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family:times new roman;"><strong>Background:</strong> Beef burgers made in Iran contain various compounds such as meat, cereals flour, as well as some spices which can be contaminated to <em>Bacillus cereus</em>, causing gastroenteritis in the consumer. This study is focused on</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">occurrence</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> of <em>B. cereus</em> in beef burgers marketed in Tehran, capital of Iran.<br> <strong>Methods:</strong> &nbsp;In this cross-sectional study, a total of 80 samples of different types of beef burgers marketed in Tehran, Iran were randomly collected based on their percentage of meat content, including 30% (n=25), 60% (n=40) as well as 90% (n=15). The samples were analyzed microbiologically by routine culture assay and biochemical tests to find <em>B. cereus</em>. Data were analyzed statistically by Microsoft Office Excel 2010.<br> <strong>Results:</strong> Twenty-five out of 80 (31.25%) beef burger samples were contaminated by <em>B. cereus</em>. Based on the percentage of meat content in the samples, the beef burger with 90% meat </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">were</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> significantly (<em>p</em><0.05) more contaminated than the others. Also, the contamination rate was significantly (<em>p</em><0.05) higher in summer compared to winter.<br> <strong>Conclusion:</strong> This survey showed that the beef burgers supplied in Iran markets </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">is</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> </span><span style="font-family:times new roman;">main</span><span style="font-family:times new roman;"> source of <em>B. cereus</em> that can cause disease in Iranian consumers. More attempts must be focused on cold-chain maintenance in production, distribution, and storage of the meat products.</span></div> Bacillus cereus, Meat Products, Food Safety, Iran 70 73 http://jfqhc.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-69-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 M. Soleimani No Food Sciences & Technology Department, National Nutrition & Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1981619573, Iran H. Hosseini hedayat@sbmu.ac.ir Yes Food Sciences & Technology Department, National Nutrition & Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1981619573, Iran Z. Neyestani No Department of Toxicology and Pharmacology, Pharmaceutical Sciences Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran S. Siadati No Department of Industrial Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran Z. Pilevar No Food Sciences & Technology Department, National Nutrition & Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Sciences and Food Technology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran 1981619573, Iran