Describes the risk of foodborne illness in New Zealand associated with Clostridium botulinum in ready-to-eat smoked fish and shellfish in sealed packaging

This report defines the baseline of levels of contamination of sulphite-reducing clostridia (SRC) in New Zealand nutritional dairy powders. It also evaluates whether or not routine testing of dairy powders for SRCs in New Zealand, and setting of microbiological criteria, are required for regulatory assurances.

The Clostridium botulinum types involved in infant botulism belong to Group I and produce
type A, B and to a lesser extent type F toxins. When spores of the organism are ingested by
infants (who have an incomplete intestinal microflora) they may become established and
grow.

Clostridium botulinum and related organisms are anaerobic bacteria that can grow in food and produce an extremely potent neurotoxin (BoNT) causing a food poisoning syndrome known as botulism. Internationally BoNT-producing organisms are of particular concern to seafood producers because one group of these organisms (Type E) naturally occurs in the marine environment and can grow and produce toxins at refrigerated temperatures. The aim of this research was to determine the prevalence of BoNT-producing organisms in the New Zealand marine environment.