Growth, sporulation and enterotoxin formation in various foods inoculated with a Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin‐producing strain were studied. Good vegetative growth, 107–108cells/g, was obtained after 4 hr of anaerobic growth and remained almost the same throughout the 20–24 hr observation in most of the foods. A gradual increase in spore count to the level of 104–105/g was observed with an increase in the incubation time. Enterotoxin was detected in moist cooked chuck roast, ground beef and turkey as well as in moist cooked and dry roasted chicken at levels up to 0.125μg/g. The earliest time at which enterotoxin was detected was after 10 hr of anaerobic growth in moist cooked turkey at 37°C. Although growth and some sporulation occurred, enterotoxin was not detected in dry roasted beef or turkey with or without gravy, or in moist cooked pork or lamb. Poor growth and sporulation also were obtained with chicken broth, chicken gravy and beef gravy. In moist cooked turkey that had been temperature abused for 6 hr at 37°C, held cold for 15 hr and reheated to 37°C, toxin could be detected after only 5 hr of holding at 37°C. The ability of certain foods to support sporulation and enterotoxin formation indicates that such preformed enterotoxin may contribute to early onset of symptoms in some cases of C. perfringens fo