Which organism can cause rapid-onset food poisoning with vomiting, commonly associated with mayonnaise and heat-stable enterotoxin production?

• A. Staphylococcus epidermidis
• B. Streptococcus pyogenes
• C. Enterococcus faecalis
• D. Staphylococcus aureus

Answer: (D)

Foodborne illness from preformed enterotoxins in food is the key idea. Staphylococcus aureus can produce heat-stable enterotoxins in foods that have been left at room temperature, such as mayonnaise-based salads. Because the toxin is already formed before ingestion and resists heat, cooking or reheating doesn’t eliminate it. When someone eats the contaminated food, the toxin triggers rapid vomiting (often pronounced) within a few hours, sometimes with stomach cramps, and the illness is usually short and self-limited, with little or no fever.

This pattern fits Staphylococcus aureus, which is a coagulase-positive gram-positive cocci commonly found on skin and in the nose, enabling contamination of ready-to-eat foods. The other organisms listed aren’t typical culprits for this rapid vomiting syndrome caused by a heat-stable enterotoxin in foods like mayonnaise.