An Evaluation of Sporicidal Treatments against Blown Pack Spoilage Associated <i>Clostridium estertheticum</i> and <i>Clostridium gasigenes</i> Spores

oleh: Eden Esteves, Leonard Koolman, Paul Whyte, Tanushree B. Gupta, Declan Bolton

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2022-02-01

Deskripsi

Blown pack spoilage (BPS) occurs when meat is cross-contaminated with <i>Clostridium estertheticum</i> or <i>Clostridium gasigenes</i> spores, often from the meat processing environment. This study tested the efficacy of four sporicidal disinfectants commonly used in beef processing plants against <i>C. estertheticum</i> and <i>C. gasigenes</i> spores in a suspension test. D-values were obtained under model ‘clean’ (sterile distilled water, SDW) and ‘dirty’ (3 g/L bovine serum albumin, BSA) conditions. Mean concentration (log<sub>10</sub> CFU/mL) were calculated from direct counts. The levels of dipicolinic acid (DPA), indicating damage to the core of these spores, was also monitored using a terbium (Tb)-DPA assay for treatment 1 (peracetic acid as the active ingredient) in SDW and BSA. In SDW sporicidal treatment 3 (containing peroxymonosulphate) was the most effective against <i>C. estertheticum</i> spores but under ‘dirty’ (BSA) conditions sporicidal treatments 1 and 2 were more effective. A similar pattern was obtained with <i>C. gasigenes</i> with treatment 3 being the most effective in SDW but treatment 2 (sodium hypochlorite as the active ingredient) being more effective in BSA. The lower DPA concentrations obtained in SDW versus BSA demonstrated the protective effect of organic matter. It was concluded that meat processors should use a 5% formulation containing sodium hypochlorite, sodium hydroxide and alkylamine oxide to eliminate BPS <i>Clostridial</i> spores in the abattoir.