Profile Of A Toxic Food-Poisoning Bacteria Flashcards
Name a toxic food-poisoning bacteria.
Clostridium botulinum
What shape is clostridium botulinum?
Rod-shaped
How does clostridium botulinum reproduce?
It reproduces asexually by binary fission
What type of food poisoning is caused by clostridium botulinum?
Toxic food poisoning
Is clostridium botulinum contagious?
No
Does clostridium botulinum need oxygen to grow?
No it is anaerobic - does not require oxygen to grow
What is the optimum pH for clostridium botulinum?
A slightly acidic environment approximately 4.6
What is the optimum temperature range for clostridium botulinum?
Between 30 and 37 degrees Celsius
According to its optimum temperature range, what type of bacteria is clostridium botulinum?
It is mesophilic
Is clostridium botulinum gram positive or gram negative?
It is gram positive
Clostridium botulinum is gram positive, what does this mean?
(4)
Cell wall is one thick layer
Does produce endospores
No flagella
Low resistance to antibiotics
Describe clostridium botulinum
11
Rod-shaped
Reproduces asexually by binary fission
Toxic food poisoning
Not contagious
Anaerobic
Mesophilic - between 30 and 37 degrees
Gram positive
- Cell wall is one thick layer
- Does produce endospores
- No flagella
- Low resistance to antibiotics
What are the sources of clostridium botulinum?
3
Soil
Vegetables
Pig intestines
What are high risk foods associated with Clostridium Botulinum?
(3)
Unpasteurised cheese
Canned food
Vacuum-packed food
What are the symptoms of botulism (food poisoning caused by Clostridium Botulinum)?
(6)
Diarrhoea
Dizziness
Double Vision
Death
Slurred Speech
Paralysis of the throat
