ABSTRACT
Clostridia are prevalent in the environment and in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of animals and humans, thus they are also frequently found in raw food materials. Clostridia form resistant spores, which may survive environmental stress and thus persist in the food chain. Obligate anaerobes, Clostridia need specifi c conditions with a low redox potential for growth in foods. Many clostridia produce toxins which cause diseases in humans and animals. Clostridia of relevance to human food safety include Clostridium botulinum producing a highly potent neurotoxin, which causes a potentially lethal paralysis when ingested, and Clostridium perfringens producing enterotoxin, which causes one of the most common GI diseases worldwide. Although Clostridium diffi cile has not been proven to be transmitted through food, its presence in food animals and foods has raised a question of its role as a food pathogen.
