TABLE 2.

Summary of initial screening of food and food materials for the presence of spores of nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum

Raw material	Total no. of samples tested	No. of negative samples	Estimated detection limit (no. of spores/200 g)a	No. of positive samples
Food materials
Nonegg pasta	48	48	1 (1, 2)	0
Egg pasta	47	42	15 (12, 18)	5
Pasta sheets	18	18	2 (1, 3)	0
Semolina	13	13	8 (5, 13)	0
Asparagus	21	21	6 (4, 8)	0
Basil	18	18	14 (11, 102)	0
Carrots	21	21	12 (10, 15)	0
Chives	3	3	1 (1, 96)b	0
Green pepper	26	26	11 (9, 14)	0
Red pepper	21	21	104 (89, 123)	0
Zucchini	43	43	1,269 (1,002, 4,994)	0
Mushrooms	45	45	207 (113, 1,032)	0
Mozzarella	22	22	3 (2, 5)	0
Ham/bacon	45	45	5 (3, 6)	0
Shrimps/prawns	42	42	14 (11, 17)	0
Scallops	44	17	3 (2, 4)	27
Uncooked béchamel sauce	23	23	5 (3, 6)	0
Cooked béchamel sauce	12	12	5 (4, 7)	0
Assorted mixed toppings	30	30	3 (2, 5)	0
Chilled ready meals
Fusilli con pollo	17	17	79 (61, 97)b	0
Penne arrabbiata	19	19	NDc	0
Penne vegetariana	16	16	4 (2, 6)	0
Fettucine	13	13	1 (1, 79)b	0
Tagliatelle frutti di mare	14	14	2 (1, 4)	0
Spaghetti ragu	10	10	1 (1, 79)b	0
Other ready meals	6	6	5 (4, 7)	0

^aMaximum likelihood estimate (95% confidence interval).

^bThe confidence interval is wide, as only a limited number of control samples were tested.

^cND, not determined.