This year, while doing your canning, remember to take precautions against botulism. Food borne botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by toxin produced by Clostridium botulism. This bacteria produces spores that survive in improperly preserved or canned food, where they produce toxin. When eaten, even minute amounts of this toxin can lead to severe poisoning.
Symptoms of botulism include difficulty swallowing and speaking, nausea, abdominal cramps, dry mouth, double vision, and difficulty breathing. Symptoms usually occur between 8 to 36 hours after consuming contaminated food.
Foods most commonly contaminated are home-canned vegetables, cured pork and ham, and smoked or raw fish. The best prevention against botulism is to sterilize home canned foods by pressure cooking at 250 degrees for 30 minutes. Discard cans or jars with bulging lids. Botulism is odorless and tasteless. When in doubt, throw it out!
Brought to you by Sutter Amador Hospital and Dr. Robert Hartmann, Amador County Health Officer and Internal Medicine Physician in Jackson.
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