Research Article Antibiotic Susceptibility of β-Glucuronidase-Positive Escherichia coli Isolated from Poultry Products in Morocco Oumaima Fazza , 1 Mireille Favard Ennachachibi, 2 Houda Ennassiri, 3 and Abdelaziz Hmyene 1 1 Laboratory of Biochemistry, Environment and Agri-Food, Faculty of Sciences and Technology Mohammedia, University Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco 2 Charles Nicolle Laboratory of Medical Analysis, Casablanca, Morocco 3 Charles Nicolle Laboratory of Environment and Food Safety, Casablanca, Morocco Correspondence should be addressed to Oumaima Fazza; oumaimafazza@gmail.com Received 3 October 2022; Revised 10 March 2023; Accepted 17 March 2023; Published 3 April 2023 Academic Editor: Eduardo Hernández Yáñez Copyright © 2023 Oumaima Fazza et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Poultry products are one of the main foodstuffs consumed in Morocco. The deterioration of their hygienic quality and the emergence of antibiotic resistance are the major public health problems. This study was carried out to determine the level of emergence of antibiotic resistance. For that, between May 2021 and June 2022, poultry products (e.g., minced meat, sausage, and meat) were collected aseptically in sterile bags from retail stores in different cities of Morocco, labeled, and transported in chilled conditions to the laboratory. The bacterial analysis was performed within 24 hours. Isolation and identification of Escherichia coli were performed according to the Moroccan standard NM ISO 16649 2018. Antimicrobial susceptibility determination of 23 antibiotics was tested using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The results showed a high level of antimicrobial resistance to amoxicillin (58%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (54%), piperacillin (63%), trimethoprim (32%), nalidixic acid (46%), and ofloxacin (43%). 58 isolates (60%) were positive for beta-lactamase class A (penicillinase) test detection, and 2 isolates (3%) produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamases. The high level of resistance demonstrated in this study should alert health organizations in the country. An establishment of surveillance programs to control the use and the administration of antibiotics in the poultry field and initiation of reliable methods to follow up on the latest updates on the emergence of bacterial resistance is a necessity. 1. Introduction Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Escherichia; it is mostly harmless. In addition to its significant role as a part of the intestinal flora of most animal species, as well as humans, it is considered a bioindicator of hygiene and antimicrobial resistance [1]. However, according to the World Health Organization, some serotypes can be life-threatening, such as Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) [2]. E. coli is considered one of the most common foodborne pathogens [3]; the consummation admin of food contami- nated with certain isolates of E. coli can cause severe compli- cations such as urinary tract infections, respiratory illness, and pneumonia. Bacteria have different mechanisms of resistance to anti- biotics: inactivation of these agents by the production of beta-lactamases changes the target protein in the cell wall, reduces the permeability of the outer membrane, and increases the expression of drug efflux pump. Gram-negative bacteria have evolved the production of various β-lactamases; in the case of E. coli, the extended- spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and AmpC β-lactamases (AmpC) are the most important enzymes in the medical field; these enzymes present different spectrum of hydrolytic activity. Hindawi International Journal of Food Science Volume 2023, Article ID 7862168, 7 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2023/7862168