Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium perfringens is found in virtually all soils, except those of the Sahara desert. It’s one of those nasty spore-forming bacteria which are hard to destroy, and is most commonly a cause of food poisoning where meat or poultry dishes have been left to cool slowly. It’s particularly associated with gravy, pies and large joints of meat.

The best way to combat clostridium is by:

• observing scrupulous cleanliness in the kitchen, taking particular care to avoid cross-contamination between raw and cooked meat and poultry
• cooking meat and poultry thoroughly
• ensuring that any cooked meat or poultry dishes for storage are cooled rapidly and thoroughly reheated before eating

This is Chapter Two, Part Eleven in a series of articles broadly similar to the course offered by the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health for its Food Hygiene Certificate.
Chapter Three: Hygiene control and personal hygiene
Return to the start of Chapter Two