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<i>Bacillus cereus</i> is a Gram positive rod-shape bacterium, that
causes severe food poisoning. <i>Bacillus</i> form spores that enable it
to resist the environmental stresses, such as drought, heat, pH changes.
Spores can remain dormant for many years, and back to the vegetative
cells when suitable conditions available for bacterial growth. Several
food poisoning outbreaks in cereal products showed that <i>B. cereus</i>
was the main causative agent. Recently, the multiplex polymerase chain
reaction (m-PCR) has provide a rapid and highly sensitive method for the
detection of specific pathogenic microorganisms in the aquatic
environment. To date, most m-PCR assays for pathogen detection have
focused on only one, two or three different types of organisms. The lack
of knowledge in the development of a multiplex PCR assay for the
specific detection of <i>Bacillus cereus</i> inspire us to spot the
light on the development of the method for <i>Bacillus cereus</i>
detection in one rapid multiplex PCR assay and the potential application
of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for the simultaneous detection of
other multi-pathogen systems.</div>