Spores from C-cpe isolates are responsible for foodborne illnesses associated with temperature-abused heat-treated foods due to their much higher resistance to thermal treatments than P-cpe isolates (Sarker and others 2000; Wen and McClane 2004). The molecular
basis responsible for this difference in resistance to heat remains unclear.
However, the small difference in pressure resistance between spores of C-cpe isolates and those of P-cpe isolates even under the most lethal treatments used in this study raises concern from
a food safety perspective as spores of the P-cpe isolates may also survive pressure treatments that are lethal to bacterial cells.
Since hydrostatic pressure might trigger spore germination (Paidhungat
and others 2002), and in low-acid conditions (such as milk or meat