Chapter 19 : Clostridium perfringens

Abstract:

Significant progress has been made in the last few years towards our understanding of the epidemiology, pathogenicity, and control of foodborne disease, including food poisoning, caused by Clostridium perfringens strains. Despite this, a significant burden of food poisoning illnesses still occurs in the United States every year, with nearly a million cases reported. C. perfringens food poisoning commonly occurs as outbreaks in institutions where food is prepared in large quantities. Prophylactic measures to prevent food poisoning should focus on restricting multiplication of vegetative cells in cooked foods. Cooking at the proper temperature and for the right time, along with rapid cooling after cooking with subsequent refrigeration, is the most effective action to control the multiplication of C. perfringens and thus avoid food poisoning outbreaks. Processors can take advantage of multiple food formulation factors or hurdles in foods (e.g., water activity, pH, and added preservatives) to restrict growth from spores in cooked foods. Predictive models have been developed to estimate growth under conditions that are relevant to food processing operations. Recent advances in molecular techniques have enabled researchers to characterize C. perfringens virulence factors, toxins, sporulation, spore heat resistance, to carry out epidemiologic trace-back of foodborne illness and toxigenic typing methods, etc. Future research efforts should be directed towards efficient tracing of C. perfringens strains of public health significance, multiple hurdles in formulated foods, proper processing of ready-to-eat foods, and consumer awareness of handling of such foods.