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Effect of Heat and pH on Toxigenic Clostridium butyricum
Author(s) -
MORTON R. D.,
SCOTT V. N.,
BERNARD D. T.,
WILEY R. C.
Publication year - 1990
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.1365-2621.1990.tb03609.x
Subject(s) - clostridium butyricum , toxin , botulism , microbiology and biotechnology , clostridium botulinum , heat resistance , food science , food spoilage , strain (injury) , chemistry , spore , biology , bacteria , fermentation , materials science , genetics , composite material , anatomy
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.