Growth of enterotoxin producing Bacillus cereus in meat substrate at 10ºC and 30ºC

The behaviour of enterotoxin-producing Bacillus cereus in meat was investigated by inoculating spore suspensions of five cultures into meat substrate (pH 5.8) and incubating at 10ºC and 30ºC. The bacterial populations were evaluated after different times by plate counts in nutrient agar. All the cultures presented growth at 30ºC with the generation time varying from 28.8 to 36.0 minutes. Three cultures also presented growth at 10ºC with generation times between 10.16 and 28.38 h. Considering the results, it was concluded that meat kept at abusive temperatures would be subject to development of this microorganism.