Fear of Botchulism from canning

[coronabarb]

Worth, I agree with everything you said...except for the comment about the USDA site. There are so many websites and blogs and facebook pgs out there giving out very unsafe recipes. It is extremely helpful for me to have a website with safe, tested recipes to give to folks who are looking for 'safe' instead of 'new and exciting'. I wish I had access to the audio tape we listened to during MFP training. The woman contracted botulism in the 90s at a restaurant in the Bend Oregon area from a baked potato. It wasn't cooked completely and held at too low temp while wrapped in foil. Her story was horrific...she didn't die but wished she could at times. She still couldn't talk well years later. Did that scare me? Hell YES! But it didn't make me say no to canning. It made me determined to only use recipes that had been tested and found to be safe. Knowledge is a good thing if you know what to do with it.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by coronabarb

Worth, I agree with everything you said...except for the comment about the USDA site. There are so many websites and blogs and facebook pgs out there giving out very unsafe recipes. It is extremely helpful for me to have a website with safe, tested recipes to give to folks who are looking for 'safe' instead of 'new and exciting'. I wish I had access to the audio tape we listened to during MFP training. The woman contracted botulism in the 90s at a restaurant in the Bend Oregon area from a baked potato. It wasn't cooked completely and held at too low temp while wrapped in foil. Her story was horrific...she didn't die but wished she could at times. She still couldn't talk well years later. Did that scare me? Hell YES! But it didn't make me say no to canning. It made me determined to only use recipes that had been tested and found to be safe. Knowledge is a good thing if you know what to do with it.

I dont disagree but they need to be more encouraging.
I dont look at blogs either.
One in particular is my salsa I use citric acid in on top of lemon juice and kept refrigerated.
No where on earth will you find this recipe it is my own and I can assure you it far exceeds anything required.
Worth

[ChiliPeppa]

That baked potato botulism things sounds like a lot more was involved than simply an under cooked potato. That kitchen must have been very poor in the food hygeine dept.

[coronabarb]

With botulism, the spores have to be present first of all, so maybe the potatoes weren't washed sufficiently...or poking the potatoes introduced spores to the interior. The biggest factor was excluding oxygen by wrapping tightly in foil. Then, the undercooked potatoes were kept at too low of a temp, practically room temp, so that allowed the spores to develop toxins. Botulism likes conditions at room temp with moisture, and no oxygen present.

[Worth1]

Sounds like a potato that got forgot about for some period of time.
I have been in a lot of commercial kitchens and I can tell you it is the reason I wont eat out hardly at all.When you walk into a Dennys restaurant and the sewer is backed up into the kitchen and smells like a sewer would you eat there.
This happened to me in San Antonio during an inspection.
I was wading in the backed up water in the kitchen while they were cooking.
I will go to court on it.
I have also been in 5 star restaurants in Austin that were filthy.
Greasy spoons that were as clean as a whistle.
Private rich folks clubs with dead rats in the kitchen.


Worth