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Factors Affecting Growth and Toxin Production by Clostridium Botulinum Type E on Irradiated (0.3 Mrad) Chicken Skins
Author(s) -
FIRSTENBERGEDEN RUTH,
ROWLEY DURWOOD B.,
SHATTUCK G. EDGAR
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
journal of food science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 150
eISSN - 1750-3841
pISSN - 0022-1147
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2621.1982.tb12733.x
Subject(s) - toxin , clostridium botulinum , spore , food science , food spoilage , microbiology and biotechnology , population , anaerobic exercise , clostridium , biology , chemistry , bacteria , physiology , genetics , demography , sociology
A model system (chicken skins with chicken exudate) was used to determine if Clostridium botulinum type E (Beluga) spores, stressed by low dose irradiation, would develop and produce toxin at abuse temperatures of 10 and 30°C in the absence of characteristic spoilage. Unstressed spores germinated, multiplied, and produced toxin on vacuum‐packed chicken skins, stored at either 30 or 10°C. Cell numbers increased faster and toxin was evident sooner at 30°C than at 10°C. At 30°C, growth occurred and toxin was produced more slowly when samples were incubated aerobically than anaerobically. When samples were incubated aerobically at 10°C, no toxin was detected within a test period of 14 days. An irradiation dose of 0.3 Mrad at 5°C reduced a spore population on vacuum‐sealed chicken skins by about 90%. The surviving population produced toxin at 30°C under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions, at 10°C no toxin was detected even on skins incubated anaerobically. Under the worst conditions (30°C, vacuum packed) toxin was not detected prior to characteristic spoilage caused by the natural flora surviving 0.3 Mrad.