Control of Clostridium botulinum in Foods

Abstract

The global burden of foodborne and waterborne diseases on human health and economics is enormous. Historically, humans have relied on preservation methods for foods such as drying, salting, smoking, acidification, and fermentation to ensure their microbiological safety. As our understanding of food preservation developed, a variety of chemical antimicrobials and processing techniques became available to control infections and toxin production by foodborne pathogens. A current global trend in food manufacturing and consumption is the preference by consumers for minimally processed, convenient, fresh-tasting, healthful, non-GMO, and organically produced foods. These requirements challenge the food industry in the production of safe food products and limit the use of chemical preservatives and antibiotics in foods and the food chain. There is considerable need for the development of efficacious natural antimicrobials and bactericidal systems for use in foods to prevent disease and food spoilage. A pathogen of major concern in global foodborne disease, and the central focus of this chapter, is the spore-former Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum produces the most poisonous toxin known to humankind and the intramuscular lethal dose is estimated to be 0.1–0.5 ng per kg body weight, and the oral dose 0.2–1.2 µg per kg in adults, while infants are likely susceptible to a considerably lower lethal dose. Due to its high potency, botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) is also considered a potential agent of bioterrorism. The goal of this chapter is to describe new developments in natural antimicrobials and antimicrobial systems to prevent growth and BoNT production in foods and in the human intestine and wounds by C. botulinum. These developments for food safety are important to enhance the quality of foods, to enable production of foods with extended shelf life and wide geographic distribution, and to address the challenge of antimicrobial resistance.