Enterobacter sakazakii is implicated in severe forms of neonatal infections such as meningitis and sepsis. This
organism has been isolated from a wide range of foods, including cheese, vegetables, grains, herbs, and spices, but its
primary environment is still unknown. Generally, dried infant milk formula has been epidemiologically identified as the
source of E. sakazakii. Sunsik (a powdered mixture of roasted grains and other foodstuffs) is widely consumed in Korea
as a side dish or energy supplement. Sunsik is consumed without heat treatment; thus, lacking an additional opportunity
to inactivate foodborne pathogens. Therefore, its microbiological safety should be guaranteed. In this study, the prevalence
of E. sakazakii was monitored in 23 different sunsik component flours, using FDA recommended methods; but E.
sakazakii medium (Neogen) and Chromogenic E. sakazakii medium (Oxoid) were used as the selective media. In total,
presumptive E. sakazakii strains were isolated from 8 different sunsik powders. Subsequently, an API 20E test was
conducted, and 15 strains from 5 different sunsik flours (sea tangle, brown rice, non-glutinous rice, cheonggukjang, dried
anchovy) were confirmed as E. sakazakii. Fifteen strains were again confirmed by PCR amplification, using three different
primer sets (tDNA sequence, ITS sequence, 16S rRNA sequence), and compared to ATCC strains (12868, 29004, 29544,
51329). They were once again confirmed by their enzyme production profiles using an API ZYM kit. Finally, RAPD
(random amplified polymorphic DNA)-genotyping was carried out as a monitoring tool to determine the contamination route of E. sakazakii during processing.