Clostridium perfringens in Meat and Meat Products

Abstract

HALL, HERBERT E. (Robert A. Taft Sanitary Engineering Center, Cincinnati, Ohio), AND ROBERT ANGELOTTI. Clostridium perfringens in meat and meat products. Appl. Microbiol. 13:352-357. 1965.-A total of 262 specimens of meat and meat dishes were examined for the presence of Clostridium perfringens. Of this total, 161 were raw, unprocessed beef, veal, lamb, pork, or chicken; 101 were processed meats and meat dishes. C. perfringens was isolated from 113 (43.1%) of these specimens. The highest percentage of contamination (82%) was found in veal cuts, and the lowest (4.7%) in sliced sandwich meats and spreads. Only 2 of the 113 isolates were shown to produce heatresistant spores, which indicates a very low incidence (0.8%) of contamination. These findings indicate that outbreaks of C. perfringens food-borne disease in the Cincinnati area are caused principally by the contamination of the food with vegetative cells or spores of the organism after cooking. Studies of the effects of various holding temperatures on the growth of C. perfringens indicated that, in the range of 5 to 15 C, no multiplication would occur, but that viable cells would still be present at the end of a 5-day holding period. Extremely rapid growth occurred at temperatures around 45 C, and complete inhibition of growth was accomplished between 49 and 52 C.

Survival of Clostridium perfringens During Baking and Holding of Turkey Stuffing1

“…Total aerobic counts on plate count agar (0); C. perfringens counts on SPS agar, slurry not heat-treated (A); C. perfringens counts on SPS agar, heat-treated slurry, 80 C for 15 min (A); temperature of stuffing (0). Temperature zone for growth from Hdll anid Angelotti (6). Temperature zone for growth from Hall and Angelotti (6).…”

“…incidence of Clostridium perfringens in raw and prepared foods have been reported, less has been done with growth-death patterns during cooking and holding foods. Both British and American investigators have studied the behavior of C. perfringens (welchii) in meats and gravies (2,6,12). Although these products have been most frequently implicated in food-poisoning outbreaks caused by C. perfringens, other types of foods, including turkey stuffing (7), have been suspected.…”

HEAT RESISTANCE OF CLOSTRIDIUM PERFRINGENS VEGETATIVE CELLS AS AFFECTED BY PRIOR HEAT SHOCK1

“…The ability of this pathogen to form heat-resistant spores and grow at a very rapid rate at relatively high temperatures are major contributing factors leading to food poisoning. The temperature range for growth of C. perjtingens, 6 to 52.3C, is well documented (Hall and Angelotti 1965;Johnson 1990;Shoemaker and Pierson 1976;Juneja et al 1999). Optimum growth occurs typically between 43-46C at which a generation time of 7.1 min in autoclaved ground beef has been reported (Willardsen et al 1978;Labbe and Juneja 2001).…”

FLAVOR ATTRIBUTES AND MICROBIAL LEVELS OF FRESH BEEF ROASTS COOKED WITH VARYING FOODSERVICE METHODOLOGY1

“…Differences in kill percentages were not commercially important since all APC's reported were < 1 log,,, CFU/cm2. Hall and Angelotti (1965) established that the maximum temperature for growth of C. peg-5-ingens was 50C. Internal temperatures of 54.4, 62.8, 68.3 and 73.9C should have been high enough to kill vegetative cells of C. peg-5-ingens.…”