For the easy and rapid detection of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) A, B, C1, D and E, a sandwich ELISA (enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay) was developed using an activated nylon membrane with covalently bound antibodies as a solid phase. Strips coated with antibodies against one SE type were incubated with culture supernatants of strains of Staphylococcus aureus as well as with the extracts of food previously contaminated with SE. The assay of bound toxin was performed using horseradish peroxidase labelled antibodies which were partly purified by affinity chromatography. After addition of 3,3’,5,5'‐tetramethylbenzidine, a distinct blue dot developed in the case of positive samples. The detection limit for individual SE is in the range of 0.5 ng ml‐1to 1 ng ml‐1. A semi‐quantitative evaluation is possible without any special reading equipment. The test can be done within 2 h, sample preparation excluded. While milk needed no extraction, in the case of minced meat or noodles, homogenization with 1.5 or 2 volumes of phosphatebuffered saline followed by centrifugation for 20 min at 10 000 ×gand 4° C proved to be adequate. Interferences by constituents of the food extracts were not observed. The results showed good agreement with those of the microtiter plate ELISA and also with those of a commercially available SE ELISA kit.