Abstract
Clostridium perfringens is a major cause of foodborne illness. Spores or vegetative cells of the organism are found widely in a variety of commodities though isolates possessing the enterotoxin gene are not common. The illness results from ingestion of temperature-abused foods containing large numbers of vegetative cells that sporulate in the intestine and produce an enterotoxin. The organism has an optimum temperature of 45 °C for growth and, under ideal conditions, certain isolates possess a generation time of less than 10 min. Proper refrigeration of prepared foods, especially protein foods, is the most effective barrier to preventing illness due to this organism.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Title of host publication | Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology |
Subtitle of host publication | Second Edition |
Publisher | Elsevier Inc. |
Pages | 463-467 |
Number of pages | 5 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9780123847331 |
ISBN (Print) | 9780123847300 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Apr 2 2014 |
Keywords
- Clostridium
- Enterotoxin
- Foodborne illness
- Spores
- Sporulation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine