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Survey of Clostridium botulinum toxins in Iranian traditional food products

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An Erratum to this article was published on 20 October 2009

Abstract

A total of 131 traditional food product samples (57 cheese, 11 kashk, and 63 salted fish) were examined using a bioassay method for detection of Clostridium botulinum toxin. Standard monovalent antitoxins were used to determine the toxin types. C. botulinum toxins were detected in 4.58% of examined samples (3.51% of cheese samples and 6.36% of salted fish samples). Contamination with this toxin was not observed in kashk samples. C. botulinum types A & E were dominant in cheese and salted fish samples, respectively. The results indicate that some Iranian traditional foods (cheese and salted fish) are contaminated by different types of C. botulinum. Consumption of these traditional foods either raw or cooked may contribute to food-borne toxicity in Iranian populations.

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Acknowledgment

The authors thank the personnel of Red Crescents and Ministry of Health and Medical Education for supplying standard antitoxins from Russia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Food and Drug Research Center, Ministry of Health, Tehran, Iran

    Hedayat Hosseini

  2. National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran

    Hedayat Hosseini

  3. Baqyatallah University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran

    Hamid Reza Tavakoli

  4. Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Mahzad Aghazadeh Meshgi

  5. Food Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Food Technology, National Nutrition and Food Technology Research Institute, Faculty of Nutrition Science and Food Technology, Shaheed Beheshti University, M. C., Tehran, Iran

    Ramin Khaksar

  6. Food Technology Department, Shaheed Beheshti Medical University, Tehran, Iran

    Marzieh Hosseini

  7. Veterinary Faculty, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

    Mansour Khakpour

Authors
  1. Hedayat Hosseini
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  2. Hamid Reza Tavakoli
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  3. Mahzad Aghazadeh Meshgi
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  4. Ramin Khaksar
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  5. Marzieh Hosseini
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  6. Mansour Khakpour
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ramin Khaksar.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00580-009-0921-9

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Hosseini, H., Tavakoli, H.R., Meshgi, M.A. et al. Survey of Clostridium botulinum toxins in Iranian traditional food products. Comp Clin Pathol 19, 247–250 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-009-0865-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-009-0865-0

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