How long for botulism spores to grow in anaerobic environment

Factual Questions
1

6 hours? 2 days? Etc.

2

From Wikipedia:

  • The spores require warm temperatures, a protein source, an anaerobic environment, and moisture in order to become active and produce toxin.

It seems that the toxin production is also slowed down a lot by high salt and high acid.

For some safety instructions, see Botulism: Prevention on Wikipedia.

3

Hmmmm. I got carried away and obviously didn’t answer your question. More from Wikipedia:

This proves that a few days is enough. Beyond that, I don’t know. I’d be inclined to say “If in doubt, throw it out”.

4

It depends on a number of factors including available nutrients and the acidity level in the medium.

A quick search turns up D M Wong, K E Young-Perkins, and R L Merson, “Factors influencing Clostridium botulinum spore germination, outgrowth, and toxin formation in acidified media.”, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 1988.

Stranger

5

It took a couple of days for spores to kill animals on Guinard island, it stayed lethal for decades.

Dennis

6

That is anthrax, a disease caused by the Bacillus anthracis bacterium which happily thrives in aerobic conditions.

Stranger