SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Food Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1574802
This article is part of the Research TopicCritical- and High-Priority Pathogens in the Food ChainView all 3 articles
Bacillus cereus in Food Safety: a Bibliometric Analysis
Provisionally accepted
- Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna (IZSLER), Brescia, Italy
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Bacillus cereus, a spore-forming pathogen, poses significant food safety risks due to its prevalence in diverse food matrices and ability to produce emetic and diarrheal toxins. This study presents the first bibliometric analysis of global research on B. cereus in food safety, examining 898 Scopus-indexed articles . Data were extracted using the search query "Bacillus cereus" OR "B. cereus" AND "Food Safety" in titles/abstracts, followed by quantitative and visual analyses via VOSviewer and the bibliometrix R-package. Metrics included annual growth rates, citation trends, country/institution contributions, and keyword co-occurrence. Collaborative networks and author productivity were mapped using co-authorship analysis. Results revealed an 8.29% annual publication growth, with China (38.86%), South Korea (22.05%), and the United States (18.26%) as leading contributors. Citation analysis highlighted seminal works on pathogenicity (e.g., enterotoxins, antimicrobial resistance), while keyword co-occurrence identified emerging themes such as virulence genes, cereulide, and sustainable mitigation strategies (e.g., probiotics, bacteriocins). Critical gaps persist in understanding B. cereus behaviour in novel food matrices (e.g., plant-based alternatives) and the efficacy of emerging preservation technologies. This analysis underscores the need for interdisciplinary approaches integrating genomics, food science, and public health to address risks in global supply chains. The findings provide a roadmap for future research, advocating for advanced surveillance, innovative interventions, and policy refinement to combat this resilient pathogen.
Keywords: bibliometric analysis, foodborne pathogens, Cereulide, antimicrobial resistance, VOSviewer
Received: 11 Feb 2025; Accepted: 21 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Abdul and Pavoni. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Muhammad Ehtesham Abdul, Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna (IZSLER), Brescia, Italy
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