Clostridium botulinum, type E, in relation to irradiation treatment of fresh fish, with special reference to tropical conditions

The work reported concerns a study of the effect of radiation treatment on fresh fish packed in polythene, with and without vacuum, in relation to the normal spoilage flora. The experiments performed, the methods used and the results obtained are presented. The results show that vacuum packing of fish inoculated with Cl. botulinum increased the strength of the toxin formed in the initial stage of storage. However, upon prolonged storage at 20 deg. C about the same amount of toxin was found in samples packed in air, indicating little advantage to vacuum packing of fish. Results at various irradiation dose levels are given in a table. (author). 13 refs, 3 figs, 2 tabs