Failure of Clostridium botulinum to Grow in Fresh Mushrooms Packaged in Plastic Film Overwraps with Holes

Abstract
Fresh, commercially grown mushrooms were inoculated in the stem with Clostridium botulinum spores (2.5 × 104 of each of four type A with l × 105 of each of four type B strains). One lb (454 g) of mush-rooms. including two spore-inoculated ones. was packaged in paper-borad trays and overwrapped with a ploybinyl chloride film. The packages were incubated 6 days at 24–26 C after making one or two holes of 1/8 inch (3.175 mm) diameter in the overwrap of test packages. Botulinum toxin. either type A only or mixed with type B, was found in the spore-inoculated mushrooms of all 28 control packages (no hole), but was not detected in any from the 123 packages with one hole and the 4 7 with two holes. The O2% inside the packages after incubation averaged 1.5 for the controls. 4.0 for packages with one hole and 6.2 for the 2-hole package group.

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