Clostridium botulinum is a significant food safety concern due to its ability to produce highly potent neurotoxin and resistant endospores. Vegetarian sausages have become a popular source of plant protein and alternative for meat products. While vegetarian sausages have not been linked to botulism, numerous outbreaks due to preserved vegetables suggest a frequent occurrence of C. botulinum spores in the raw material. The product formulation of vegetarian sausages involves limited NaCl and preservatives, and shelf-lives may be several months. The safety of vegetarian sausages thus relies mainly on heat treatment and chilled storage. The main food safety concern is C. botulinum Group II that can grow and produce toxin at refrigeration temperatures. Here we show a high overall prevalence (32%) of C. botulinum in 74 samples of vegetarian sausages from seven producers. Both Groups I and II strains and genes for neurotoxin types A, B, E and F were detected in the products. The highest cell counts (1200 spores/kg) were observed for C. botulinum Group II in products with remaining shelf-lives of 6 months at the time of purchase. We conclude that vacuum-packaged vegetarian sausage products frequently contain C. botulinum spores and may possess a high risk of C. botulinum growth and toxin production. Chilled storage below 3°C and thorough reheating before consumption are warranted.

肉毒梭菌由于其产生强效神经毒素和抗性内生孢子的能力而成为重要的食品安全问题。素食香肠已成为植物蛋白和肉类产品替代品的流行来源。尽管素食香肠与肉毒杆菌中毒无关，但由于腌制蔬菜而引起的许多暴发表明原料中经常出现肉毒梭菌孢子。素食香肠的产品配方包含有限的NaCl和防腐剂，保质期可能为数月。因此，素食香肠的安全性主要取决于热处理和冷藏。食品安全的主要问题是肉毒梭菌II类，它可以在冷藏温度下生长并产生毒素。在这里，我们显示出较高的总体患病率（32％）来自七个生产者的74个素食香肠样本中的肉毒梭菌。在产品中同时检测到了I和II组的菌株以及A，B，E和F型神经毒素的基因。在购买时，肉毒梭菌第二组的最高细胞计数（1200孢子/千克）在产品中具有6个月的剩余保质期。我们得出的结论是，真空包装的素食香肠产品经常含有肉毒梭菌孢子，并且可能具有肉毒梭菌生长和毒素产生的高风险。保证在低于3°C的温度下冷藏，并彻底重新加热后再食用。