Botulism - The Canning Connection, Clostridium Botulinum, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention
toxin eating associated sausage
Botulism is an extremely serious disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. C. botulinum release one of the most potent toxins known—one gram of botulinum toxin theoretically can kill one million people. The toxin is swift-acting. It kills by binding to nerve cells, thereby causing paralysis of the muscles used in breathing.
First coined in the 1870s, the term botulism comes from the Latin word for sausage, botulus, since botulism used to be associated with eating sausage. Although botulism is still commonly associated with food contamination in the United States, it is more likely to occur from eating plants, not meat.
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Plant foods associated with botulism are canned vegetables. In a typical scenario, vegetables contaminated with C. botulinum from the soil are not washed adequately and subjected to temperatures inadequate for killing the bacteria. As the vegetable sits on the shelf, botulinum toxin is released into the can. Because the toxin is odorless and colorless, the unsuspecting person eats the contaminated…
Clostridium botulinum has been classified into eight different strains. Each strain releases the deadly toxin but in slightly different forms. Humans are susceptible to four of these eight toxins; the other four are deadly in cattle, sheep, and horses. C. botulinum is a strict anaerobe, meaning it survives only in conditions completely lacking oxygen. In fact, the presence of oxygen kills C. botul…
The risk of botulism has been virtually eliminated from the commercial canning industry, which uses sterilization techniques to kill the C. botulinum spores. For the home canner it is essential to follow recommended guidelines to prevent the growth of C. botulinum. These guidelines are: Obviously, canning non-acidic foods requires special equipment. If you are not sure about the origin or safety o…
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