All my life I have a little fear and eating home-canned beans because of the rare but potentially fatal disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. The botulinum produced by the bacterium is one of the most lethal natural toxins known to man. Now that my organic garden is overflowing with fresh beans, and can't possibly eat all the fresh, I turned again to this microscopic organism that lives naturally in soil.
Eating poorly prepared food is really the only way you can be sickened by this kind of bacteria. It is also possible for bacteria to infect an open wound, (often caused by drug users sharing needles), and babies can sometimes be sickened by consuming the spores of the bacteria. Fortunately, the impact of botulism poisoning are quite rare-only an average of 110 cases reported to the United States each year. The majority of these cases, 72% is botyliasis, and 25% are caused by eating contaminated food.
Infants may become infected by eating corn syrup, honey, or other sweeteners containing inactivated bacterial spores in order to alert parents to give no honey in any form for infants aged one year. Once the child begins to eat solid foods, the stomach acids will kill the bacteria spores and prevents them from growing.
As a gardener, the disease is born more food that worries me, and the list of symptoms and side effects makes it logical to worry about. Botulism is a paralytic disease and the symptoms are very similar to those of people who have a stroke. Symptoms may include difficulty swallowing, muscle weakness, drooping eyelids and double or blurry vision. These symptoms can occur anywhere from 6 hours to 10 days after eating contaminated food. Patients treated for this disease could fan for weeks in intensive care. Paralysis slowly improves over a few weeks, if the disease is diagnosed early enough. In the past, up to 1/2 of people contracting the disease dies, but health care is now the fatal accident rate reduced to 8%. Patients may continue to feel tired and having difficulty breathing for years after recovery from this disease.
Clostridium botulinum bacteria grow and multiply in environments without oxygen, which have high moisture content and low acidity. This is an excellent description of the Interior of a pot of low-acid vegetables. High levels of sugar that can help to reduce the production of bacteria and toxins. The bacteria are killed when vegetables are canned under high heat and pressure, the way you store-issues with canned products processed.
My parents thousands of jars of beans canned over the years, but always be careful to follow the common practice of boiling the beans for at least 10 minutes before lunch. The Centers for disease control (CDC) agrees that this is a good idea. Also, it makes sense to use the latest home canning tips from US Department of agriculture, since new methods being developed all the time. It simply pays to be secure if you can low-acid foods such as beans, asparagus, beets and corn.
Also is known to be sickened by the bacteria growing cut garlic for botulism stored in oil, which should always be kept refrigerated, and humans
potatoes baked in aluminium foil, if the potatoes have remained in the Packaging and cooling.
Frozen vegetables make the same risks as home-canned products According to the USDA safe food handling fact sheet, food stored constantly f below will always be secure. Freezing keeps food safe by slowing the movement of molecules, causing microbes to enter a dormant stage. Freezing preserves food for extended periods because it prevents the growth of microorganisms that cause both food spoilage and foodborne illness.
However, the same document goes on to say that the commitment does not kill bacteria-this simply puts into sleep mode. Once the food is frozen, bacteria may start to grow and multiply just as you can do with food. To be safe, use up each thawed (and even fresh) veggies as soon as possible and to keep any residue is left in the fridge.
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