| Summary: | The aim of the present study was to investigate the presence, pathogenic potential and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of <i>Escherichia coli</i> isolated from raw milk cheese, traditionally produced by farmers and marketed directly to the consumer in Banat region, Romania. A total of 81.1% (43/53) of the processed samples expressed positive results for <i>E. coli</i>, with a distribution of 83.8% (31/37), and 75.0% (12/16) in the cow- and sheep-milk-origin assortments, respectively. Overall, 69.8% (30/43) of the specimens had a contamination level ≤10 CFU/g. Molecular tests showed that, from the total number of <i>E. coli</i> isolates, 9.3% (4/43) harbored the <i>stx</i>2, and 2.3% (1/43), the <i>stx</i>1 virulence genes. The <i>E. coli</i> O157 (including H7) biovariety was identified in 7% (3/43) of the samples by the Vidas equipment. From the 27 antimicrobials tested with the Vitek2 automated system, the <i>E. coli</i> isolates displayed resistance to enrofloxacin (100%, 15 out of 15 tested isolates), ampicillin (39.5%, 17/43), norfloxacin (28.6%, 8/28), fosfomycin (25%, 7/28), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (23.3%, 10/43), cefalexin (20%, 3/15), cefalotin (13.3%, 2/15), tetracycline (13.3%, 2/15), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (9.3%, 4/43), piperacillin-tazobactam (7.1%, 2/28), cefotaxime (7.1%, 2/28), cefepime (7.1%, 2/28), ticarcillin/clavulanic acid (6.7%, 1/15), florfenicol (6.7%, 1/15), ceftazidime (3.6%, 1/28), and ertapenem (3.6%, 1/28). Ten (23.3%) strains were multidrug-resistant. The obtained preliminary results indicated hygienic–sanitary deficiencies throughout the cheese production process, and demonstrated that these products can harbor virulent and multidrug-resistant <i>E. coli</i> strains, which constitute a public health risk. However, future investigations, processing a higher number of samples, are still necessary to draw comprehensive conclusions.
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