The overall project goal is to obtain an accurate assessment of the response of the foodborne pathogen, Clostridium perfringens, to high hydrostatic pressure in order to better understand the mechanism of inactivation and identify those controllable factors most important in protection of this pathogen from the effects of high pressure processing in foods.
A novel technology, the pressure processing of foods offers U.S. agriculture a commercially viable non-thermal means, i.e., "cold pasteurization", for the processing of foods and beverages resulting in longer shelf-life and improved safety while maintaining sensory characteristics and nutrient content nearly identical to fresh or raw products. In light of the mounting concerns regarding the safety of chilled meats and meat products, and the use of irradiation as a process for the treatment of foods, optimization of high hydrostatic pressure as a food processing technique carries significant potential benefit as this technology matures and is applied to refrigerated commodities in national and global markets. C. perfringens is one of the most common causes of food-related diarrheal diseases in the U.S. Spores, such as those produced by C. perfringens, have been shown very resistant to applications of high pressure. In other spore forming bacteria, it is known that pressure resistance is significantly affected by the temperature of sporulation. Allied processing factors known to protect bacterial endospores include environments of reduced water activity, partial germination of spores due to exposure to different levels of pressure, extended initiation of germination caused by pH, and the protective effect of food itself. These factors will be examined in this study.