C. perfringens spores in poultry meat containing 50 mM AK consisted: (i) a primary
heat treatment (80 C, 10 min) to pasteurize and denature the meat proteins and to activate C. perfringens
spores for germination; (ii) cooling of the product to 55 C in about 20 min and further incubation at
55 C for about 15 min for spore germination; and (iii) inactivation of germinated spores by pressureassisted
thermal processing (586 MPa at 73 C for 10 min). Collectively, this study demonstrates the
feasibility of an alternative and novel strategy to inactivate C. perfringens spores in meat products
formulated with germinants specific for C. perfringens.