Bad Economy can lead to Botulism?

[Mrs. Overall]

This story was posted in the Seattle area local news about a woman and two children stricken with botulism because of improperly home canned beans. A result of our struggling economy that I hadn't even thought of.

The story quotes the epidemiologist:

"Epidemiologist Dorothy MacEachern with the Spokane Regional Health District is concerned that people have been responding to difficult economic times by canning more of their food perhaps improperly."

http://www.komonews.com/news/local/40475087.html

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I thought of that a while back. Sorry to hear that it's starting to happen. :^(

[LeftyMom]

2. A lot of people are probably eating stuff they know is a bit dodgy, rather than throw it out.

Most of them probably suffer no ill effects, but the few that do... :hurts:

[Warpy]

3. A lot of people will probably try to can garden produce in the oven

thinking a 400 degree oven is hot enough to kill botulism spores.

It's not effective because the liquid in a jar never gets above 212F. Once it exceeds that temperature, it's steam. The only way to get food in an oven that hot is to dry it completely and bake it, rendering it inedible.

Hot water canning can be used for acid foods and a lot of garden produce can be pickled. However, it takes pressure canning for all non acid vegetables, soups, sauces and meats.

[cherokeeprogressive]

4. Oh come on. I practically grew up on home-canned goods.

My great-grandma taught my grandma, who taught my mother. I will start my own canning operation this spring. I've been reading up and it actually sounds quite simple and is a great way to put up extra veggies and even meats.

Lack of preparation and lack of sanitation are what caused this. Plain and simple. They may have been canning DUE to a shrinking economy, but that's no excuse not to do it right.

[Berry Cool]

5. But...but...when people get desperate, they will try to do new things they never tried before

and some of them will do it badly and amateurishly...and the problem with home canning in a bad, amateurish way is that you can pay for it with your life.

You were lucky to learn while young how to properly can (I admit, I never did). Some people might try to do it without knowing what it takes, do it wrong, and poison themselves. Of course doing it right is just a matter of proper science...but look how we've been taught to discount science lately.

I bet a lot of people today don't even know botulism exists, except in "botox" form. They would be shocked to learn it's not just something you shoot into your face to take the wrinkles away, but a very powerful poison you can make enough of in your own home to destroy the planet...if you can veggies and fruits badly.

[cherokeeprogressive]

6. Okay you have a point.

But library cards are free and there you can access the internet and find out what the ins-and-outs are of practically anything you might try at home.

Certainly people have died from botulism due to improper canning during even the best of times. Blaming this on the economy is disengenuous IMHO because then it seems like nothing more than pointing fingers at those who we already know fucked it.

[DeschutesRiver]

7. Totally agree

I knew these articles were a crock of crap and just fear mongering when I saw the repeated notices at the FDA website re the recalls of all the "commerically" canned veggies that were recalled due to boutulism fears. Castle was one brand; and thereafter I counted several recalls on green beans. So the argument that you will not be exposed to botulism if you use commercially canned foods is a complete myth; as is the idea that it happens to home canners on any more frequent of a basis than it does with the "professional" commercial canners.

I didn't even want to buy canned green beans for awhile.

And in case no one knows about it, in some areas you can sign up for a course or two or three from your local extension office, where they teach people how to can. My dh was intrigued enough that he signed up for one (we are raising cattle, and he wanted to see how hard it would be to can the meat - it wasn't, you just had to be exacting about the steps you took in the process) and brought home a freshly canned jar of beef and some salsa. Said it was really interesting to do a hands on class with others, not that hard and we both plan to do more of those courses this summer.

I wish I had elderly relatives alive now, because I would pick their brain on this - they home canned, because back when some of the eldest grew up, there weren't all these JIT stores with commercially canned products.

ETA: There are people who should not home can. The same ones we read about that during a power outage, they fire up their generators in their kitchen or garages, or use a hibachi to warm themselves. Yeah, if you don't study something or take the dangers inherent in the process seriously, you do increase the risk that you will fuck it up when you try your hand at it. If a person so inclined didn't die from taking canning as a lark and a frolic, they would likely off themselves the next time the power goes out or by sticking their fingers into a power outlet, or from using a chainsaw during outages without wearing a bit of protective gear.

[Berry Cool]

8. Oh, it's not just the economy. Not at all.

You're also assuming, in our post-Bush America, that anyone can read.

Edited to add: I'm not trying to discourage home canning, or newbies from trying it. What I'm saying is that I'm not surprised some people are doing it badly and creating a danger to themselves and others doing it.

It's kind of like when people's electricity gets shut off for nonpayment and, because they just can't pay the bill, they resort to portable heaters or candles or kerosene heaters and they end up setting the house on fire and people die. Yeah, what they did when they were using these items may have been unwise and perhaps even stupid, but they wouldn't even have resorted to using them were they not suffering economically.

Canning in and of itself is a good thing to know how to do. But if some people are canning badly because they are ignorant of how to do it properly, and endangering themselves, well, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see more of them in post-Bush America and its current economy.

[csziggy]

9. County Extension offices have guides to home canning

And some even have community canning kitchens for those without sufficient room or facilities to do the work at home safely. http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

The National Center for Home Food Preservation (http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/) has information on various ways to safely preserve food including canning, freezing, drying, curing, etc. And they have publications that are available through their website.

Ball Corporation who manufactures canning jars sells a home canning starter kit - Walmart even carries it! And they have an excellent web site on home canning: http://www.freshpreserving.com/ On that site, they have a page of canning guides and links to other resources about home canning. One of the best guides to canning and freezing I have is a booklet from Ball. But since it is older, if I were to do canning today, I would look for a newer guide with up to date instructions.

I have done home canning of meat and vegetables. It is not hard to do but it takes paying attention to details and using the correct procedures. And before you use any home canned item, you MUST check to make sure the seal is still tight and inspection the food to make sure it did not spoil even if the seal seems good. Some dangerous things can grow in anaerobic conditions!

My husband just got finished using the last jar of apple butter I canned in 1993 - it was still good after all these years! That was not something I would have recommended to anyone, using 15 year old preserves, but since the seal was tight he went ahead and ate it - and he is still here. He's braver than I am - I did not eat any of it. ;)

[cherokeeprogressive]

10. Excellent info. Thanks!