Dr. Neal Golden USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service Office of Public Health Science Risk Assessment Division

1. 1 Dr. Neal Golden USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service Office of Public Health Science Risk Assessment Division

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3. 3 Background

4. 4 Background During processing of Ready-to-Eat (RTE) and partially cooked foods (PCF), raw meat and poultry are heat treated (lethality step), then cooled in a process known as stabilization. Spores from pathogenic organisms, such as CP and C. botulinum, may be activated by the heat treatment and germinate into vegetative cells capable of growth.

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6. 6 Microbiology of C. perfringens

7. 7 C. Perfringens (CP) Gram-positive, spore-forming bacterium Anaerobic Non-motile Ubiquitous within the environment Optimal growth within meat and poultry products at 43-47 oC (109-117 oF). Type A, enterotoxin (CPE) positive CP, is the causative agent of C. perfringens foodborne illness.

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9. 9 Epidemiology of C. perfringens foodborne illness

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11. 11 Disease Characteristics Symptoms include diarrhea, nausea, and abdominal pain. Incubation period ranges from 8 to 24 hours with symptoms lasting typically for 2-3 days Most illnesses are self-limiting, however, severity can vary. Severe illness and chronic sequellae are not associated with CP foodborne illness.

12. 12 C. perfringens Outbreaks The most common vehicles implicated in outbreaks of CP foodborne illness have been meat and poultry. Of the 153 CP outbreaks from 1990-1999, the majority were associated with meat and poultry prepared from raw products (CDC, 2000). Only one outbreak has been confirmed as having been caused by an RTE product, turkey loaf (CDC 2000, DeWaal et al., 2001 ). The majority of CP outbreaks is associated with improper holding and occurs in institutional settings and (MMWR 1996, 2000).

13. 13 Criteria for CP Outbreaks (CDC, 2000): Presence of 105 CP/gram in implicated food, or Presence of 105 CP/gram in stool from two or more ill persons, or Demonstration of enterotoxin (CPE) in stool from two or more ill persons. Approximately 250 outbreaks involving 15,000 cases were reported to the CDC from 1990-2003. C. perfringens Outbreaks

14. 14 Summary

15. 15 Summary CP is estimated to be the fourth most common bacterial foodborne illness in the U.S. (Mead et al., 1999). CP and C. botulinum foodborne illnesses are associated with meat and poultry products and could become a hazard from RTEs and PC products if stabilization is inadequate. To control the growth of CP, FSIS regulates the critical control limit of allowable CP growth at the processing plant. In response to public comment, the agency has developed and completed a risk assessment to evaluate the public health impact of the current USDA stabilization performance standard (1999).