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Safety in Canning
Title
Safety in Canning
Subject
food safety
Botulism
Excerpt
One day last January at a dinner party in a town in North Dakota, a vegetable salad was served. The salad was made of home-canned string beans, peas and diced carrots. Twelve people who ate that salad died of fatal botulism poisoning.
During the month of May of this year another similar outbreak occurred in another state. Several people who ate some home-canned spinach died of the same kind of poisoning. A sample of the spinach which had been left in the can was sent to the Food and Drug experts here in Washington who examined it and found that it contained this deadly toxin formed by the botulinus bacteria.
Other cases have also been reported already this year. And this year is no exception. 3ach year deaths occur from improperly canned food. Botulinus has long been a menace. It is especially dangerous because of its peculiar qualities. In the first place it is extremely resistant to heat, and is only destroyed by a high temperature. Then, it grows without needing air, so it finds the hermetically sealed cans or jars very comfortable living quarters. Finally, it gives off a toxin as It grows that causes death. Occasionally food in which these bacteria have been growing will not show any evidence of spoilage. That is why, for safety, it is a good idea to boil canned non-acid vegetables after removing them from the can. The boiling destroys the toxin.
Since there are possibilities of spoilage in canning by any method, all canned food on being opened should be carefully inspected. If the slightest suspicion is evident to the eye or the nose, the food should be thrown away once without being even tasted. A single taste of food, spoiled by botulinus, has proved fatal in some cases. According to present evidence, it is not safe even to taste suspected food without first boiling it vigorously for fifteen minutes in an open kettle.
During the month of May of this year another similar outbreak occurred in another state. Several people who ate some home-canned spinach died of the same kind of poisoning. A sample of the spinach which had been left in the can was sent to the Food and Drug experts here in Washington who examined it and found that it contained this deadly toxin formed by the botulinus bacteria.
Other cases have also been reported already this year. And this year is no exception. 3ach year deaths occur from improperly canned food. Botulinus has long been a menace. It is especially dangerous because of its peculiar qualities. In the first place it is extremely resistant to heat, and is only destroyed by a high temperature. Then, it grows without needing air, so it finds the hermetically sealed cans or jars very comfortable living quarters. Finally, it gives off a toxin as It grows that causes death. Occasionally food in which these bacteria have been growing will not show any evidence of spoilage. That is why, for safety, it is a good idea to boil canned non-acid vegetables after removing them from the can. The boiling destroys the toxin.
Since there are possibilities of spoilage in canning by any method, all canned food on being opened should be carefully inspected. If the slightest suspicion is evident to the eye or the nose, the food should be thrown away once without being even tasted. A single taste of food, spoiled by botulinus, has proved fatal in some cases. According to present evidence, it is not safe even to taste suspected food without first boiling it vigorously for fifteen minutes in an open kettle.
Creator
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Office of Information. Radio Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture. Bureau of Home Economics
Food and Drug Administration
Date
1931
Relation
Homemakers' Chat
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