Application of the ‘D‐concept’to heat treatments involving curing salts

Summary Canned cured meats are as safe as uncured meats which have received a 12‐D heat process (‘botulinum‐cook’) after heat treatments approximately one‐fifth as great. Preliminary findings in laboratory media indicate that the D‐concept may be equally applicable to cured meats, with a correspondingly smaller value of D. A means of calculating the effect of curing salts is described and suggestions are made for further study.