Canning wasn't always my thing. Before arriving at N.C State, I didn't know a whole lot about it (other than the results). I like food, nerdy trends and science and have since embraced the world of home preservation. I even have a t-shirt to prove it (Pump up the Jam, right, exactly as shown).

I've made pickles, jams, green beans, tomatoes, tomato sauces and a bunch of other stuff over the past couple of years. I'm not a seasoned veteran yet, but I'm trying. I figure that it's important to know a bit about what folks might be calling me about and where they might go wrong.  The philosophy I follow when it comes to providing food safety information is to share risks and provide risk-reduction strategies -- I don't answer whether something is safe or not, and I don't tell folks what they should do. I talk a lot about consequences, evidence and options.

One of the best risk-based resources out there to provide evidence and options is the National Center for Home Food Preservation run by my friend Elizabeth Andress at the University of Georgia. Elizabeth and her team provide the science for every best practice they produce - and are happy to share data or say where data doesn't exist. Good communication comes from this open sharing of work.

With home food preservation of low acid foods (like veggies and meats), the consequences of not following evidence-based practices are catastrophic. It's not just a bit of diarrhea or vomit; paralysis, leading to long-term heath problems and death are the norm, not the exception.

Earlier this year a couple of folks were paralyzed after eating improperly stored commercial soups (that hadn't been acidified to reduce the outgrowth of botilinum toxin and required refrigeration). In the December issue of Journal of Food Protection, three outbreaks of foodborne botulism linked to home canned vegetables are detailed -- including the foods, the practices and correct risk-reduction strategies.

Stuff like this is invaluable for food safety communication and extension-types.

Three outbreaks of foodborne botulism caused by unsafe home canning of vegetables—Ohio and Washington, 2008 and 2009
03.dec.11
Journal of Food Protection®, Volume 74, Number 12, December 2011 , pp. 2090-2096(7)
Date, Kashmira; Fagan, Ryan; Crossland, Sandra; MacEachern, Dorothy; Pyper, Brian; Bokanyi, Rick; Houze, Yolanda; Andress, Elizabeth; Tauxe, Robert
Abstract:
Foodborne botulism is a potentially fatal paralytic illness caused by ingestion of neurotoxin produced by the spore-forming bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Historically, home-canned vegetables have been the most common cause of botulism outbreaks in the United States. During 2008 and 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health departments in Ohio and Washington State investigated three outbreaks caused by unsafe home canning of vegetables. We analyzed CDC surveillance data for background on food vehicles that caused botulism outbreaks from 1999 to 2008. For the three outbreaks described, patients and their family members were interviewed and foods were collected. Laboratory testing of clinical and food samples was done at the respective state public health laboratories. From 1999 to 2008, 116 outbreaks of foodborne botulism were reported. Of the 48 outbreaks caused by home-prepared foods from the contiguous United States, 38% (18) were from home-canned vegetables. Three outbreaks of Type A botulism occurred in Ohio and Washington in September 2008, January 2009, and June 2009. Home-canned vegetables (green beans, green bean and carrot blend, and asparagus) served at family meals were confirmed as the source of each outbreak. In each instance, home canners did not follow canning instructions, did not use pressure cookers (canners? -ben), ignored signs of food spoilage, and were unaware of the risk of botulism from consuming improperly preserved vegetables. Home-canned vegetables remain a leading cause of foodborne botulism. These outbreaks illustrate critical areas of concern in current home canning and food preparation knowledge and practices. Similar gaps were identified in a 2005 national survey of U.S. adults. Botulism prevention efforts should include targeted educational outreach to home canners.
 

Preliminary tests carried out by the U.K. Health Protection Agency (HPA) have identified the toxin that causes botulism from a used jar of Loyd Grossman Korma sauce. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is advising consumers who have purchased the particular batch of the product to dispose of it and not consume. A full recall of this product batch has been issued and the sauce is being removed from shop shelves.

This follows two cases of botulism in one family in Scotland where the contaminated jar of sauce was discovered. No further cases have been identified to date. There is no evidence to suggest that the samples taken from the jar for testing could have been separately contaminated from another source. Further tests on this and from another unused jar of the korma sauce taken from the home of the patients are underway.

The affected batch is: 350g jars of Loyd Grossman Korma sauce with a best before date of February 2013. The sauce has a batch code of: 1218R 07:21

Health professionals across the UK have been made aware of the suspected cases and advised to look out for people of all ages with possible symptoms.

An elderly woman has died as a result of botulism poisoning, produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, after eating some Italian olives that contained the toxin.

According to the Helsinki and Uusimaa Hospital District, she succumbed to the illness on Thursday.

Another adult member of the same family remains in hospital.

Prior to their illness, both had eaten from a jar of stuffed organic olives, which was subsequently discovered to contain the toxin, as reported by THL, the National Institute for Health and Welfare.

The olives in question were manufactured and packaged in Italy, and the jar contains the Finnish wording "Gaudiano Bio oliivi mantelitäytteellä" (Gaudiano Organic Olives Stuffed with Almonds).

The best-before dates on the product are 08/2012 or 09/2012 and the batch numbers H2510X or L1810X.

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department confirmed Wednesday it is investigating an illness — suspected to be foodborne botulism — in 12 inmates of the Utah State Prison.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports eight inmates, three of whom are in critical condition, are receiving treatment at a local hospital, and four are under medical observation at the prison.

All the affected inmates consumed home-made alcohol brewed inside a cell at the prison, according to a health department news release.

The inmates affected likely came in contact with the bacteria by drinking brew, alcohol made in a cell, apparently in a plastic bag. Inmates often use fruit, water and sugar to craft the brew, which they often hide in the cell’s toilet, and when those foods are in an anaerobic environment they can create a breeding ground for the bacteria.

According to confiscation reports obtained earlier this year by The Tribune, brew is made fairly frequently, with 44 confiscations of the substance occurring between October 2009 and December 2010. However, the prison has not ever had a case of botulism, according to Nicholas Rupp, public information officer for the health department.

But "there’s always a health risk any time there is inappropriate food handling," Rupp added.