Abstract: The occurrence and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus in 120 samples of ready-to-eat foods obtained from retail outlets and street vendors was studied. About 17.2% of the isolates were detected in suya, 13.4% in moin-moin, 29.7% in meat sausages and 32.6% in fish sausages. Rinse and wash water from food preparation centers had counts>103 cfu mL-1. The antibiotic resistance of the isolates was tested using eleven different antibiotics including ampicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and ciproflox. The isolates were resistant to two or more antibiotics and seven different resistance patterns were recorded. Resistance to streptomycin and tetracycline was found for 60.0 and 59.2%, respectively for the isolates. Lower levels of resistance were found for erythromycin (0.83%) and rifampicin (1.6%). Ten strains of the isolates showed evidence of β-lactamase activity. The results indicate that ready-to-eat food samples are frequently contaminated with S. aureus and could be potential vehicle of resistant Staphylococcus foodborne intoxications.