Fate of Clostridium botulinum in Perishable Canned Cured Meat at Abuse Temperature

Three experiments are described wherein perishable canned cured pork was prepared with 50 or 156 μg/g added sodium nitrite and 10² or 10⁴ botulinal spores/g. Spore germination (i.e. loss of heat resistance), cell survival, and nitrite depletion were followed during abusive storage at 27 C. Spore germination occurred readily at both levels of added nitrite. The data indicate a race between death of the germinated cells and nitrite depletion. The time at which botulinal outgrowth occurs depends upon the relative levels of residual nitrite and surviving botulinal cells.