Bacteria that cause botulism may survive in canned food for a long time, because?

A:the can was left open


B: some cans may contain viruses that protect the bacteria


C: the bacteria may form endospores


D: sterilized cans do not have enough oxygen to harm the bacteria

Bacteria that cause botulism may survive in canned food for a long time, because?
The answer is C.


Failure to sterilize food during preservation allows Clostridium botulinum to survive by forming endospores. Under anaerobic environment (without oxygen) in canned food, the spore germinates and produce botulinum toxin. The toxin is heat-labile (sensitive to heat); therefore, foods eaten without proper cooking are usually implicated. Besides, endospores are formed to survive in adverse conditions. So, it can survive in canned food for a long time.
Reply:C%26gt; Endospores can survive for years - this would happen in unproperly canned food.
Reply:These bacteria exist either as spores or as vegetative cells. The spores, which are comparable to plant seeds, can survive harmlessly in soil and water for many years. When ideal conditions exist for growth, the spores produce vegetative cells which multiply rapidly and may produce a deadly toxin within three to four days of growth in an environment consisting of:





a moist, low-acid food,


a temperature between 40°F and 120°F, and


less than 2 percent oxygen.
Reply:The bacteria that cause botulism are called anearobic bacteria because they can survive in airtight cans that lack oxygen, so D is the best answer here. It is the toxin that these bacteria make that account for the symptoms, not the bacteria themselves.