Effect of Heat and pH on Toxigenic Clostridium butyricum |
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| Authors: | R D MORTON V N SCOTT D T BERNARD R C WILEY |
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| Affiliation: | Author Morton, formerly with the National Food Processors Assoc, Washington, DC, is now affiliated with the Dial Corp., Technical &Administrative Center, 15101 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale AZ 85254–2199. Authors Scott and Bernard are with the National Food Processors Assoc, 1401 New York Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20005. Author Wiley is with the Univ. of Maryland, Food Science Program, Holzapfel Hall, College Park, MD 20742. |
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| Abstract: | Clostridium butyricum long known to cause spoilage in canned acid foods recently caused two separate cases of infant botulism in Italy by strains producing type E botulinum toxin. Heat resistance of spores of toxigenic and nontoxigenic C. butyricum was determined. The non-toxigenic strain was considerably more heat resistant, having a D-value at 212°F of 4.7 min compared to a D-value 170°F of 2.3–2.5 min for toxigenic strains at pH 7.0. Minimum pH for growth and toxin production was also determined. The nontoxigenic strain grew at pH 4.2; toxigenic strains grew and produced toxin at pH 5.2 but not at pH 5.0. |
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