In vitro assessment of psychrotrophic Clostridium spp. as possible causative agents of bone-taint in beef

The present study was undertaken to determine whether psychrotrophic Clostridium spp. could induce a bone-taint condition when inoculated into the joints of hot bovine hind legs that were then subjected to marginally abusive cooling conditions. The stifle and hip joints of the hind legs of freshly slaughtered cattle were inoculated with single-strain cultures of 14 psychrotrophic Clostridium spp. isolated from spoiled chilled meat or wish cultures of a mesophilic or a psychrotrophic reference strain. inoculated legs were chilled in a cooling tunnel programmed so simulate marginally abusive cooling (deep tissue temperature reduced from 38 to 20 degrees C in 20 h). After cooling, deep-seated strongly offensive odours were evident in some of the inoculated joints and tissue surrounding those joints, it can, therefore, be postulated that at least some strains of psychrotrophic Clostridium spp. have the potential to be primary causative agents of bone-taint. (C) 1998 Academic Press.