title: Clostridium difficile survives minimal temperature recommended for cooking ground meats.
abstract: We quantified the thermal inhibitory effect of 71°C (recommended for cooking ground meats), and re-heating at 85°C, on food- and food-animal-derived Clostridium difficile spores. All C. difficile strains tested (n=20) survived 71°C for 2 h, but 90% died within 10 min when re-heated at 85°C. Current cooking recommendations would need revision to include C. difficile.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Studies, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada. rodriguez-palacios.1@osu.edu
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodriguez-Palacios
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Reid-Smith
authors.forename: Henry R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Staempfli
authors.forename: J Scott
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Weese
mesh_terms: D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003296:Cooking; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008461:Meat Products; D013171:Spores, Bacterial