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From: ritz@ldyday.enet.dec.com (and there are no truths outside the gates of Eden)
Newsgroups: sci.bio
Subject: Re: SALTPETER (NITRATES), CORNED BEEF, & BOTULISM
Message-ID: <1990Nov13.164452@ldyday.enet.dec.com>
Date: 13 Nov 90 22:24:24 GMT
References: <7094@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU> <1990Nov12.152122.15466@godot.RadOnc.UNC.EDU>
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In article <7094@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU>, sbhattac@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU (Shankar
Bhattacharyya) writes:

|> In article <1990Nov12.152122.15466@godot.RadOnc.UNC.EDU>
tracton@godot.radonc.unc.edu () writes:
|> 
|> > ...... I wonder (and I bet that
|> >Shankar can answer this), does the Botulism grow during the curing
|> >stage or during the storage stage (post-curing)? Can it be killed off
|> >by boiling for 2-3 hours? IF Botulism can live in a saline solution
|> >which is "strong enough to float an egg" at 40 degrees F, can it also
|> >live in a very dilute solution at boiling tempuratures?

|> For what little it is worth, I seem to remember that the botulinum bug
|> produces a protein toxin which is not denatured at the boil, and so the
|> toxin can affect you even if the bug itself is killed.


Botulinus is a strict anaerobe, meaning that it cannot grow in the presence of
oxygen.  The toxin is produced during the storage phase, but the original
inoculum of Botuluinus is the determining factor between good food and death.
The toxin can be destroyed by boiling, but you bet your life on the outcome. It
grows in a narrow pH range; this is why canning tomatoes in boiling water is
safe, but not corn.  It also doesn't grow much under refrigeration.

If you're going to be storing your corned beef in the fridge, I'd say you're
pretty safe.  Don't forget - corning is a preservative process. Canned corned
beef is the thing you've got to worry about.

Many sausage-type products use nitrates because the meat is ground, exposing it
to the air, then packed in an anaerobic environment. Again, unless you hang it
at room temperature, or the original inoculum is inordinately large, you don't
have to worry about it. It's mostly used for the pretty pink color.

All the facts are in the latest version of _Putting Food By_.

John Ritz

ritz@ldyday.enet.dec.com
ritz@smaug.enet.dec.com

"It's freedom of speech...as long as you don't say too much."
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