A bacteriological study of ham souringMcBryde, Charles Neil
Science
A bacteriological study of ham souring
McBryde, Charles Neil
Ham -- Microbiology
The optimum temperature for growth is 20° to 25° C. The organism does
not grow at incubator temperature (37.5° C.). At ice-box temperature
(8° to 10° C.) it develops readily, although the growth is less rapid
than at 20° to 25° C. That the organism will develop at even lower
temperatures was shown in the inoculation experiments with hams, where
it developed and multiplied extensively in the bodies of the hams at
the temperature of the pickling cellars, which are held usually at 34°
to 36° F. (1° to 2° C.).
The organism develops best in a neutral or slightly alkaline medium.
GROWTH ON DIFFERENT CULTURE MEDIA.
_Growth on egg-pork medium._—At a temperature of 20° to 25° C. the
cultures show a slight but distinct sour odor in from two to three
days. This odor, as before stated, closely resembles the odor of a
sour ham. Egg-pork cultures from three to five days old were given to
a trained meat inspector, who knew nothing whatever as to the contents
of the tubes, and he was asked to describe the odor; he described it as
that of a sour ham.
At one week the albumins of the medium are gelatinized or partly
coagulated and the odor is more pronounced. At ten days the albumins
are completely coagulated except at the surface, where there is
no apparent growth; the odor is more putrefactive in nature, and
the reaction of the medium is slightly acid. At three weeks the
coagulated albumin splits up into fragments and appears to undergo a
slow digestion, gas bubbles form in the lower portion of the culture,
and the odor becomes distinctly putrefactive in character. The slow
digestion of the albumin is probably due to a proteolytic enzyme
elaborated by the bacillus.
At the end of a week a dark zone usually appears at the surface of the
coagulated albumin and gradually darkens until it becomes almost black.
This zone is probably due to a pigment elaborated by the bacillus.
At ice-box temperature (8° to 10° C.) the same changes and the same
odor were noted, but were somewhat slower in developing.
_Glucose-pork-agar._—This medium was prepared from pork in the same
manner as beef-agar, and contained 1 per cent of glucose. The organism
grows readily on this medium and may be conveniently cultivated in deep
stab cultures. The medium was always thoroughly boiled and then rapidly
cooled in order to expel the inclosed air. The growth of the organism
was found to vary considerably with the reaction.
When the reaction was +1.5, deep stab cultures at three days (20° to
25° C.) showed a well-marked arborescent growth, appearing as delicate
filaments extending outward from the line of stab. The growth stopped
within one-fourth or one-half inch of the surface of the agar on
account of the presence of oxygen in the upper part of the culture
medium. As the growth extended toward the walls of the test tube the
agar became clouded, and there were sometimes gas bubbles in the depth
of the agar, but the gas formation was not extensive.
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