Evaluation of Iron Binding Compounds as Inhibitors of Gas and Toxin Production by Clostridium botulinum in Ground Pork

Iron binding systems (heme iron binding gases alone or with iron binding salts) were evaluated for antibotulinal activity in ground pork. Compared with meat systems containing nitrite or nitrite plus supplemental iron compounds, carbon monoxide (CO) was not antibotulinal. Nitric oxide (NO) treated meats did swell slower, but nitrite was also found in these systems. Thus, neither CO nor NO would be suitable substitutes for sodium nitrite in meat curing. Addition of ferric chloride or myoglobin decreased the antibotulinal effectiveness of nitrite, but samples containing nitrite plus ethylene‐diaminetetraacetate (EDTA) or denatured nitrosylated myoglobin (NOMb) swelled slower. Supplemental iron compounds probably decreased residual nitrite levels in the product, thus permitting botulinal growth, rather than directly stimulating growth by providing iron as an external nutrient.