## 1 Introduction  
Blown pack spoilage (BPS) typically occurs in chilled vacuum packaged red meat and is characterized by a foul cheese-like odor, accumulation of drip, and copious amounts of gas (primarily carbon dioxide, CO\({}_{2}\)) in correctly stored packs [1; 2; 3]. Psychrophilic and psychotrophic _Clostridium estertheticum_ and _Clostridium gasigenes_ are the main causative agents of BPS. Spores from these _Clostridium_ spp. are ubiquitous in the abattoir environment and have been isolated from stockyard pens, slaughter floors, the processing environment, liariage, evisceration table, conveyor belts, packaging machines and bleeding area and can cross-contaminate carcasses during slaughter and dressing [4; 5; 6; 7; 8]. Control is reliant on eliminating these spores from the abattoir environment. Bacterial spores are highly resistant to chemical and physical agents [9] and there is currently no standardized method for inactivating BPS spores in the meat plant environment [10; 11; 12; 13]. Chemical agents such as glutaraldehyde, formaldehyde, iodine compounds, chlorine compounds, hydrogen peroxide (H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\)), peroxy acids, ethylene oxide and beta-propilolactone have sporicidal activity [14]. Oxidizing agents are widely used including peracetic acid (PAA) and H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\) based sanitizers, which can be applied individually or in combination taking advantage of any synergistic effect [15; 16; 17]. PAA based chemical agents inactivate bacteria, fungi and yeasts [18; 19; 20] and bacterial spores using exposure times ranging from 15 s to 30 min and concentrations of between 0.02 to 1% [21]. These products have been effectively applied against spores of _Clostridioides difficile_, _Clostridium sporesgenes_, _Bacillus megaterium_, _Bacillus amililiquefaciens_ and _Geobacillus thermodophilus_[22; 23; 24] and have the added advantage of removing biofilms produced by _Listeria monocytogenes_[25; 26; 27]. Beside the application of peryoxygens, such as peryoxacetic acid (PAA) combined with H\({}_{2}\)O\({}_{2}\), non-PAA based chemicals have also been used. Chlorine has been widely used as a disinfect against bacterial spores [14]. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCI) is the preferred form of chlorine releasing agent. In the presence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium hypochlorite is a strong basic disinfectant. It provides stabilized hypochlorite ions (OCI\({}^{-}\)) which mediates cellular damage via hydroxide ions (OH\({}^{-}\)) by directly or indirectly interacting with proteins, polysaccharides and fats. Hydroxide ions can also dissolve organic materials. Moreover, the presence of sodium hydroxide reduces the corrosive effects of hypochlorite ions. Stabilized and concentrated sodium hypochlorite is therefore recommended for cleaning operations [28]. Chlorine based disinfectants such as sodium hypochlorite have been continually improved for the environmental control of _C. difficile_ spores [29]. Sodium hypochlorite has also shown inactivation properties against _Bacillus anthracis_ spores alongside other oxidizing agents [30]. Although peryoxygens and chlorine releasing agents are ideally preferred for sporicidal activity, some alternatives such as potassium peroxymonosulphate and alcohols may also be used for decontamination and disinfection purposes. Potassium peroxymonosulphate provides reactive halogen species (HOX) causing cell membrane damage and leakage of intracellular materials evidenced by changes in cell morphology [31; 32]. Peroxymonosulphate based disinfectants have previously reduced levels of _Pseudomonas aeruginosa_ and _Salmonella enterica_ in animal holding environments, and inactivated chlorine-resistant bacterial spores in combination with UV irradiation [32; 33]. Alcohol application has been reported to inhibit L-alanine triggered germination of _Bacillus subtilis_ spores by interacting with L-alanine receptor sites on the spore [14]. Application of ethanol in combination with heating, alkalinization, and acidification induces effective sporicidal activity against _C.