Evaluation of potential risk of botulism from seafood cocktails.

Clostridium botulinum E could not be detected in 35 samples of commercial seafood cocktails, ranging in pH from 4.10 to 4.85. At 30 C, toxinogenesis in homogenates acidified with a citric-acetic acid mixture was prevented at pH 4.86 or lower for crabmeat and at 5.03 or lower for shrimp. Measurements of the rate of acid penetration into the centers of large pieces of flesh indicated that the already small risk of botulism from seafood cocktails could be completely eliminated by using a cocktail sauce at a maximum pH of 3.70 and by cooling the final product to at least 10 C for 24 h.