Bags were sealed and further mixed with the stomacher (Seward Stomacher, London, UK) to ensure equal distribution of the germinant and spores. Initial C. perfringens counts on meat samples were w106 spores/g. Samples were mixed vigorously for 5 min using a stomacher (Seward Stomacher, London, UK) to ensure even distribution of AK and spores in the meat. Bags were compressed into a thin layer (approximately 0.3 cm thick) and heat-sealed (Model IPK-205HK, Impak Crop., Los Angeles, CA, USA).