Can You Get Botulism From Canned Goods? Why Yes, You Can!

For those of you that have been canning for years, hats off to you! It is a lot of work. I finally purchased a pressure canner and was eager to try it out. I wanted to can ratatouille to start, and I had made a fresh batch with a lot of leftovers. I started my search in the Ball Blue Books and a few other canning bibles. No luck. I then searched the USDA publications, which has free canning downloads, or you can purchase it as a spiral bound book. It can be found here: https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/publications_usda.html#gsc.tab=0

It has a lot of good information and was last updated in 2015, which is a lot newer than some of the canning books that I have been perusing. It also has recipes and the amounts of fruits or vegetables that you will need to make 7 quarts of product, which is what the canner will hold. The website discusses other preserving methods, such as freezing, drying, fermenting, curing and smoking.

But I digress. No luck with finding anything there about canning ratatouille. I did find recipes on canning with spaghetti sauce with meat, which is pretty close to ratatouille (I always add a little sausage to mine for flavor). The next best advice I could find was a recipe that said to time it for 90 minutes, which is 20 minutes longer than anything else I could find, with the exception of beans. Since I didn’t have enough ratatouille for 7 quarts, I filled those extra jars with Great Northern beans. If I was going to mess this up, I was going to mess it up big. Now, I wasn’t raised in a family that did a lot of canning, so make sure you only follow trusted, tested recipes. I remember my grandmother canning pickles, tomatoes, and pickled beets, so this was definitely new territory for me.

Looking through the canning books, I did find a recipe that sounded good, and contained other things besides just beans, salt, and water. I washed the jars in the dishwasher to get them ready and washed the lids and rings, and once the jars were clean and still hot, I filled them with what I wanted to can. Having never used a pressure canner, I was a little nervous, but proceeded with caution. I followed the directions that came in the book with the canner. When the timer went off, it was nerve racking to wait until the pressure dropped and I could open the canner. When I did, low and behold, there was no broken jars and after taking them out of the canner and waiting until they cooled. I did have one that did not seal, and I put it into the refrigerator to be eaten the next day. I am counting it as a successful first run. We did try a jar of beans a few days later and they were really good. I will definitely be canning more beans!

In my research to find out how to can safely, I realized that there are many ways to can or preserve food that may or may not be correct. Botulism is no joke and can be deadly.

In my research to find out how to can safely, I realized that there are many ways to can or preserve food that may or may not be correct. Botulism is no joke and can be deadly. You definitely don’t want to take a chance by tasting suspect food. The toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled (1). The first indication that there is a problem is when someone becomes ill. The spores are often found in soil, which is common to root vegetables such as potatoes. Cases of food borne botulism have been reported in green beans, carrots, asparagus, potato salad, baked potatoes, chili sauce, spaghetti sauce with meat, beets, cold smoked ribs, and fermented yogurt drinks . Honey has been implicated in cases of infant botulism (2).

Symptoms of botulism are usually seen within 18 to 36 hours after consumption. Symptoms vary but can include the classic food poisoning signs – nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea. People infected with botulism may also have difficulty breathing, moving their eyes, and swallowing. Muscle weakness, drooping eyelids, double and/or blurry vision and slurred speech. Symptoms may be misdiagnosed as a stroke or other diseases (3).

Infants may show signs sooner, and the symptoms may present differently from adults. Infants may show signs of constipation, difficulty breathing, weak cries that sound different, drooping eyelids and pupils that are slow to react to light (3).

When consuming home canned goods that are of the low acid variety, make sure that you boil them for at least 10 minutes prior to consuming. Prior to opening the jars, make sure the seal is still intact, the lid isn’t bulging, or the contents aren’t foaming or smell spoiled. For more signs of spoilage go to https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/INTRO_HomeCanrev0715.pdf . They have a great section on food safety in canning, from prepping to preparing and everything in between.

It is also important to make sure that all of your equipment is in good working order and the jars, lids, and rings are either new or in good condition. Jars need to be clean, with no chips or cracks. Lids should be new, and have not been used before, unless you have purchased lids that are specially designed to be reused. The regular lids with the rubber seal are a onetime use lid. The rings can be used for several rounds of canning if they are without rust, nicks, or dents (4).

If you are pressure canning and make sure that your gauge is in good condition, reads zero, and hasn’t been dropped. It is imperative that it is working correctly to ensure that the canning process is safe. If you are not sure if it works, call your county extension office to see it they can test it for you, or send it to the factory that produced it for calibration. Don’t forget to look the elevation for your area, it does determine how high the pressure needs to be to ensure that you are canning safely(4). A great link is: https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/general/find_altitude.html

There are many resources available for beginners or even master canners looking to brush up on the newest information. Your local library is sure to have books on canning. Here are some links with great information to get you started.

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html#gsc.tab=0

https://www.ballmasonjars.com/canning-and-preserving-101.html

https://extension.umn.edu/preserving-and-preparing/home-canning-basics

YouTube can also be a good resource for those who are beginning, if you want to watch the process. Make sure you use tested recipes to ensure that they are safe.

Once you have canned your produce, soups, or meats, make sure that they have sealed by testing the lids 12 to 24 hours after cooling. You can reprocess within 24 hours if they haven’t sealed. If they haven’t “pinged” or if the lid moves when you depress the top, make sure you refrigerate it right away for consumption or reprocessing (4).

Home canning can be fun, and you definitely get a feeling of accomplishment when you see those jars lined up with all your hard work. The best part is that canning provides a way to use up the garden produce before it spoils and tastes so much better than store bought canned goods. Good luck to all that are trying this useful skill for the first time. As always, stay safe, be careful, follow the directions and wash your hands!

1. CDC. (2022, June 24). Home Canning and Botulism. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/foodsafety/communication/home-canning-and-botulism.html
2. Matthews, K. R., Kniel, K. E., & Montville, T. J. (2017). Food Microbiology: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. 167-177.
3. Symptoms. (2021, February 9). https://www.cdc.gov/botulism/symptoms.html
4. Canning, H. (n.d.). Complete Guide to. Retrieved September 6, 2022, from https://nchfp.uga.edu/publications/usda/GUIDE01_HomeCan_rev0715.pdf