Relevant Aspects of <i>Clostridium estertheticum</i> as a Specific Spoilage Organism of Vacuum-Packed Meat

oleh: Joseph Wambui, Roger Stephan

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-05-01

Deskripsi

<i>Clostridium estertheticum</i> is a psychrotolerant, gram-positive, motile, anaerobic, spore-forming, rod-shaped bacteria that causes blown pack spoilage (BPS). Spoilage occurs in vacuum-packed meat without temperature abuse. Having been reported in the last 30 years in several countries, BPS by <i>Cl. estertheticum</i> is a major issue around the world and presents a huge economic impact on the meat industry. Despite being an important spoilage microorganism, studies on <i>Cl. estertheticum</i> are challenged by numerous aspects. These include, lack or poor growth in laboratory media, long culturing periods, and unpredictable isolation on the media. These factors hamper the detection of <i>Cl. estertheticum</i> before occurrence of BPS, which further undermines efforts to prevent the occurrence of BPS. Nevertheless, considerable developments have taken place with regard to culture-independent methods. Although information on <i>Cl. estertheticum</i> is available, it is limited and remains highly fragmented. Therefore, this review collates the available information and discusses relevant aspects of <i>Cl. estertheticum</i> as a specific spoilage organism of BPS in vacuum-packed meat.