We report for the first time an oxacillin-susceptible mecA -positive Staphylococcus aureus (OS-MRSA) associated with a processed food product in Europe. One isolate (MRSA-ST5-type V SCC mec) was found in cheese among 600 food samples confiscated from air passengers from international flights in Vienna Airport (Austria). Type V SCC mec strains do not harbor functional mecI-mecR1 genes and in such strains mecA expression is regulated by the bla system (blaI-blaR1-blaZ). It has been recently reported that malfunctions in the bla system lead to the constitutive expression of mecA. The OS-MRSA reported in this study harbored the bla system on a plasmid and one deletion occurred in the blaR1 gene causing a frameshift variant that lead to an incomplete BlaR1 protein. This finding highlights the potential role of food as a neglected route of dissemination of emerging MRSA variants. • First characterization of OS-MRSA associated with processed food products in Europe. • Novel amino acid substitution identified in the transpeptidase domain of PBP2a. • Description of bla system carried on a plasmid. • Deletion in blaR1 gene lead to an incomplete BlaR1 protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]