Bacterial Spores and Food Safety

Bacterial spores when present in processed foods can germinate under favorable conditions and cause either food spoilage or food borne illnesses when the food is consumed. E.g. the spores of Clostridium botulinum present in low acid canned foods. The use of high temperature processing in combination with anaerobic storage conditions is usually sufficient to eliminate bacterial spores based on their D-values. However, if marginal heating is done (sub-lethal heat processing) due to compromises for nutritional or organoleptic quality, the spores may survive and subsequently germinate, causing a food safety problem. Although GMP of thermally processed foods requires that enough heating be applied to eliminate microbial vegetative organisms and spores, sometimes residual bacterial spores, especially the spores of thermophillic organisms may still be present following the heating process of canned foods. However these thermophillic spores may pose no food safety problem due to the fact that the cans are cooled down quickly following the heating process and then stored at room temperature conditions, which inhibit the germination, and subsequent proliferation of the spores. In dried/powdered foods that are to be reconstituted before consumption, bacterial spores, if present, can become a food safety problem and can lead to spoilage of the improperly stored reconstituted food or lead to intoxication of consumers when the food is ingested.
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