Canning and botulism...how will I know?

[snewman]

I have just canned for the first time. I did pickles and tomatoes. I felt pretty good about it, the jars sealed, everything looks good. Then I started reading about canning other things and am left feeling pretty worried about botulism and such. I had heard about it previously and wasn't worried, but I guess now that I'm reading more and know more, I worry more. How will I know if a jar of tomatoes has gone bad? I assumed that there would be an obvious change in color, odor or something that would make it obvious that I shouldn't eat it. I know if the bubble in the lid has popped up that things have gone wrong, but is that a sure thing? Is it possible for the lid not to have popped and for there to be no obvious signs of spoilage but to then die of botulism poisoning? Can anyone clear this up for me? Will I know when I shouldn't eat something?

 

[ChickenToes]

If you followed the recipes exactly and all the jars sealed, I really wouldn't worry about it.

If you ever notice that the button has popped back up on one of your lids, then get rid of it immediately, that is a sure sign that something went wrong. Otherwise, just sniff the contents of the jar when you open it, if it looks and smells okay, then it is okay.

 

[vfem]

Quote:
Very true... and chances are if the seal was bad and you opened them up you would discover mold is more likely to form at the time, where its visible, and you'll know to throw it away.

From habit, if something is older then 1 year, I rinse out whatever was in that jar and sanitize it to use with a fresh batch of whatever the next year. You just need to stick to recipe and sealing correctly and you should have no worries.

 

[Shaun]

Botulism is only a problem with low-acid foods, NOT tomatoes and pickles. You need to use a pressure canner to get LOW acid foods hot enough to kill off Botulism spores in LOW acid foods like green beans and corn and meats.

Botulism grows only in SEALED jars - and only in low acid foods. The way to solve? Boil all home canned goods 10 minutes in a open pot. I don't, but then I've been canning for 30+ years, and my pressure canner and I are old friends. But if you are new to canning and new to low acid foods, you might want to boil the first year or so until you're sure about your canning.

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

I just wanted to mention, everyone says to follow the recipes but you need to make sure you have a "good" recipe. There are a lot of recipes posted even on here in the canning section that do not meet current safety guidelines. The best and cheapest book you can get is at Walmart Ball book on canning, it's in the canning section for less than 6.00 and the recipes are tried and true university tested. For example heirloom tomatoes still have plenty of acid to be considered safe but most supermarket mass produced hot house and other varieties have the acid bred out of them for the sake of the consumer who cannot or do not like the acidity. Just wanted to mention those, but I would not worry too much about your home canned food, following safe recipes and practices will fill your pantry and give you a lot of satisfaction in the process. I

to can and put away as much as I can cram into pantry and the rest are gifted. Good luck and have fun!

 

[KDbeads]

Also..... if you check the CDC website on statistics for botulism.....

In the United States an average of 110 cases of botulism are reported each year. Of these, approximately 25% are foodborne, 72% are infant botulism, and the rest are wound botulism. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur most years and usually caused by eating contaminated home-canned foods. The number of cases of foodborne and infant botulism has changed little in recent years, but wound botulism has increased because of the use of black-tar heroin, especially in California.

Just thought I'd throw that out there since I've been hammered with this since people in town found out I can foods and am not ancient, I'm one of these 'young kids' who apparently don't really know better and am trying out a new fad

even though I've been canning or helping to can for 30 some odd years

 

[Kim_NC]

Unlike other spoilage, botulism does not have a distinct taste or smell. Although food contaiminated with botulism may taste bad if it contains other contaminants.

Several good points already made by others above:
- the concern is with LOW acid foods, not high acid foods like pickles and tomatoes
- follow guidelines closely
- use only approved, tested recipes
- boiling low acid foods for 10 minutes after opening will kill contaminants

Recently we were talking about this same subject over on SS. You might find that thread interesting. Here's a link, and a quote of my comments on that thread.
http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6599

Quote:

And another link on the CDC site that may be helpful to you:
http://www.cdc.gov/botulism/botulism_faq.htm

 

[snewman]

Thank you to everyone for your replies. I am normally not a very worried person when it comes to food poisoning, etc. I just kept reading these botulism warnings everywhere and wasn't sure if I was being too cavalier about my food or if other people were maybe just a bit reactionary. I feel better about it now, as most of you seem to feel the way I do. Much appreciated!