Clostridium perfringens is among the most common causative agents of foodborne illness in humans worldwide. The current study was performed to determine the prevalence of enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens in raw and minced beef marketed in Damietta governorate by using standard culture method (FDA, 2001) for the isolation and confirmation
of Clostridium perfringens in meat samples. Whereas, identification of enterotoxigenic Clostridium perfringens was performed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) procedure to detect the presence of enterotoxin gene (cpe) encoding CPE in Clostridium perfringens isolates. Therefore, a total of 100 random meat samples, the obtained results revealed that out
of 50 examined samples each of raw beef and raw minced beef, Clostridium perfringens was detected in 11 (22%) and 14 (28%), respectively. On the other hand, 2 (4%) and 3 (6%) of isolated Clostridium perfringens strains from raw and minced beef samples were positive for the presence of cpe gene by using PCR, respectively. Moreover, PCR proved to be a rapid,
sensitive and reliable technique which can be used to discriminate the enterotoxigenic strains of isolated Clostridium perfringens from meat and meat products. In addition, the findings of this study demonstrated that some meat samples are contaminated, at the time of retail purchase, with Clostridium perfringens isolates having full potential to cause food poisoning which represent a health risk to consumers.