B. nontoxic during the 5-week study period, suggesting that spores
surviving the heat treatment were unable to germinate and develop into a toxic culture in the presence of nitrite. The results
suggest that the safety of processed meat products with The highest
C. botulinum counts were detected in nitrite-free products. Toxigenesis was observed in nitrite-free products during storage, but
products containing either 75 or 120 mg/kg nitrite remainedrespect to group II C. botulinum type B can be maintained even with a
reduced concentration (75 mg/kg) of sodium nitrite.