A study from the BBSRC strategically-funded Institute of Food Research has provided new evidence on the background levels of food-poisoning bacteria in raw food to help the food industry deliver safe chilled foods more sustainably.
Botulism is a serious form of food poisoning, caused by a deadly neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The neurotoxin is so poisonous that eating even the tiniest amount of food in which C. botulinum has germinated, grown and formed neurotoxin can result in severe illness and death. Because of this, the food industry uses high quality raw materials and good hygienic manufacturing practice along with a strict set of safety criteria when producing foods. The safety criteria include precisely defined cooking conditions and times, as well as controlled storage temperatures and use by dates that keep our food safe. The rare outbreaks of foodborne botulism have occurred when these criteria haven’t been followed correctly.
Although these criteria are well established, consumer demand for reduced preservatives, milder heat processing and longer shelf lives is driving continuous innovation in minimally processed chilled foods, which include ready meals and similar prepared items. But delivering this needs a full understanding of how these changes affect the germination and growth of food poisoning bacteria, especially C. botulinum.
FoodWorld 