B. thermosphacta can be selected, together with LAB, as the dominant
microbiota of refrigerated pork stored under low oxygen tension.
Nielsen (1983) reported that the addition of 100 ppm nitrite to meat
appears not to affect this microorganism, but an inhibitory effect was
noticed at 200 ppm. In our study, inhibition was also observed with all
the nitrate/nitrite concentrations assayed. Collins-Thompson and
Rodríguez López (1980) reported that nitrite extended the lag phase
of B. thermosphacta in culture media incubated at 5 and 15 °C, and
they attributed this effect to the lack of a nitrite reductase system.