Effect of storage time and temperature on the survival of Clostridium botulinum spores in acid media.
Clostridium-botulinum type A and type B spores were stored in tomato juice (pH 4.2) and citric acid-phosphate buffer (pH 4.2) at 4, 22, and 32 degrees C for 180 days. The spore count was determined at different intervals over the 180-day storage period. There was no significant decrease in the number of type A spores in either the tomato juice or citric acid-phosphate buffer stored for 180 days at 4, 22, and 32 degrees C. The number of type B spores did not decrease when storage was at 4 degrees C, but there was an approximately 30% decrease in the number of spores after 180 days of storage at 22 and 32 degrees C.
D001628:Beverages; D003014:Clostridium botulinum / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005516:Food Microbiology; D005519:Food Preservation; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014675:Vegetables