Effects of meat p H and the initial numbers of spores of C lostridium estertheticum on the development of blown pack spoilage of vacuum‐packaged beef

Summary To understand how the initial numbers of C lostridium estertheticum spores on, and the concentration of glucose in meat affect the development of blown pack spoilage, beef of p H ≤5.6 and of p H ≥5.8 was inoculated with the spores at various numbers, vacuum‐packaged and stored at 2 °C. For beef of p H ≤5.6, the volumes of packs inoculated with ≤10 spores did not change; and packs inoculated with ≥30 spores started swelling after 35 days, and the rate of volume increase increased with increasing number of inoculated spores. For beef of p H ≥5.8, packs inoculated 0, three or ten spores slackened, and packs inoculated with ≥30 spores became swollen at the end of storage, but to a much lesser degree than the corresponding packs of beef of p H ≤5.6. Glucose was reduced by 21 m m and depleted in the rinse fluids from swollen packs of beef of p H ≤5.6 and of p H ≥5.8, respectively.