Botulism in canned food (canned food, jars): signs, how to identify and how to avoid poisoning

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The time for home preparation has come to an end. Pickled cucumbers, mushrooms, jams and compotes stand in orderly rows in the cellar and pantry. And every summer resident is sure: his own is much tastier and healthier than the products with which store shelves are littered. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

For as long as I can remember, my grandmother and mother (and now myself), have always prepared homemade delicacies for the winter with their own hands. At the same time, we have never encountered botulism, but only heard about it out of the corner of our ears.

Botulism is a disease and infection that most often occurs in people who eat various types of home-made preserves. Absolutely anyone can get sick from this deadly disease.

What kind of disease is this?

First of all, you need to know what botulism is. It is a dangerous infectious disease that leads to toxic shock and affects the nervous system. If the patient is not immediately provided with medical assistance, this condition is absolutely fatal.

Botulism in canned food, the signs of which are not easy to detect, is caused by clostridia. These microorganisms live in water and soil, and in their natural state they do not pose any danger to humans and animals. Food begins to threaten health due to the presence of botulinum toxin, a potent poison that clostridia produce when they multiply in the absence of oxygen. It is for this reason that home preserves can become an ideal environment for botulism infection. Sealed cans represent an airless space, and in such conditions the number of anaerobic microorganisms grows at tremendous speed. All this means that it is necessary to make sure that the product is safe and carefully inspect the containers, taking into account the signs of botulism in preservation. The reasons for such contamination of products, as a rule, are improper sterilization of containers before sealing.

Providing first aid for poisoning

While waiting for the medical team to arrive, you should perform certain activities:

Rinse the stomach, which can only be done if the victim has no problems with swallowing and if he is conscious. To do this, give the patient a large volume of a five percent solution of baking soda or plain water to drink and induce vomiting. The procedure is repeated until clear liquid without food admixture begins to come out.
Give a saline laxative, which is necessary for faster removal of the toxin during bowel movements. To do this, you can use a 25% solution of magnesium sulfate. 100-200 milliliters of the substance will be enough.
Give a cleansing enema. This procedure also helps get rid of some of the botulinum toxin.
Ensure periodic use of rehydration solution to replace fluid losses and prevent dehydration. If you don’t have a pharmaceutical drug, you can prepare it yourself: dilute a teaspoon of salt and two tablespoons of sugar in a liter of boiled water.
Prevent aspiration from vomit, which is especially important in case of loss of consciousness. For this, the patient is placed on his side and his condition is constantly monitored. This will prevent vomit from entering the respiratory tract. The same procedure is recommended in case of disturbances in the swallowing process.

It is also worth noting that eating contaminated food as a snack with strong alcohol in many cases saves the patient’s life. This fact has not been officially registered anywhere, but it is confirmed by many doctors.

Treatment of botulism has a positive prognosis only if qualified assistance is provided in a timely manner. In this case, the mortality rate does not exceed four percent. But attempts to cope with the disease on your own at home lead to the death of sixty percent of victims.

It is important to remember that a person who has once had botulism does not develop immunity to this disease. Therefore, in any case, it is necessary to adhere to basic safety rules and not eat food, the quality of which there are any complaints or suspicions about.

How does food botulism manifest?

This disease begins quickly and is very difficult. Anyone who regularly eats home-canned food is at risk.

The microorganisms that cause this disease can develop in any food - both in fish and meat, and in vegetables and mushrooms. Even dried foods (fish and meat) can lead to contamination in some cases.

Botulism has an incubation period of about 24 hours, but sometimes symptoms can become apparent within a few hours of eating contaminated food. The very first sign is gastrointestinal upset. What often happens is that people assume it is simple food poisoning and do not seek medical help. Therefore, when such symptoms appear, first of all you need to remember what the patient consumed the day before. If it turns out to be home preserves, you need to urgently consult a doctor.

Clinical picture of the disease

How quickly does botulism develop after eating canned food? The incubation period of this infectious disease can last from several hours to five days . First, the disease manifests itself as a disruption of the digestive tract, as with ordinary poisoning. The patient experiences vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

Gastrointestinal symptoms are replaced by the following specific clinical signs of botulism:

Muscle weakness. It becomes difficult for a person to stand, move, or take something with his hands. Paralysis and paresis gradually increase.
Feeling of dry mouth.
Nasal voice.
Impaired swallowing and speech.
Amymia is the absence of facial expressions.
Severe bloating, constipation due to decreased intestinal motility.
Increased blood pressure, increased heart rate.
Frequent and shallow breathing, in which respiratory failure gradually increases.
Dilated pupils, blurred vision , due to the inability to focus on something. In this case, a violation of accommodation is observed.
Paleness of the skin develops as a result of vascular spasm.
Urinary retention develops due to paresis of the bladder muscles.

Why is botulism dangerous?

Typically, signs of poisoning include spasmodic pain in the stomach, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, followed by constipation. This stage of botulism is not always recognized, but the following symptoms provide a clear indication that the body has been damaged by botulinum toxin. This is expressed in visual impairment - a grid and fog effect is created in front of the patient’s eyes, the image does not focus, and sometimes squint may be observed.

Approximately 24 hours after the onset of infection, the timbre of the infected person’s voice changes – hoarseness and nasality appear. This is caused by damage to the muscles of the larynx, leading to paralysis. New signs of the disease that appear further are as follows: it becomes painful to swallow, coordination of movements is impaired. If at this stage the patient is not provided with urgent medical care, respiratory paralysis will begin to develop, and he will die from suffocation. This is precisely why it is necessary to recognize the first symptoms of the disease and promptly consult a doctor.

Impact on the human body

Botulism in jam can lead to both disability and death for the eater. This happens for the following reasons:

Toxins affect nerve cells not only in the spinal cord, but also in the medulla oblongata.
Subsequently, the nerve endings are blocked.
A person ceases to control his own movements due to the strong connection of the poison with neurons. This helps block the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in muscle tissue.

We suggest you read: How to replant an oak seedling?
— Garden and vegetable garden As a result, the victim experiences disturbances in the transmission of nerve impulses from the nerve fibers themselves to the muscles that must obey them. Because of this, the patient’s motor activity is sharply limited, and the stimulus from the nerve endings simply does not reach a specific destination. The final stage here is the development of weakness of various muscle tissues followed by paralysis.

According to doctors, the biggest danger with botulism is damage to various vital muscle groups. This is about:

oral cavity,
throat,
larynx,
intercostal muscles,
diaphragmatic.

As a result of weakening of the motor activity of the above muscle groups, the patient experiences:

inability to swallow
inability to chew,
problems with ventilation.

At first, the poisoned person simply experiences muscle weakness, which subsequently quite quickly develops into complete paralysis due to the body’s inability to perform muscle contractions.

In addition to the fact that a person in this situation cannot eat and drink on his own, many other side effects and characteristic symptoms of poisoning develop, which are expressed in the following:

The development of mumps due to the inability to fully swallow.
The release of saliva from the mouth, as well as gastric juice, which leads to an inflammatory process in the lungs.
Damage to the cardiovascular system of the body. For example, a patient has myocarditis, which occurs due to toxic damage to the heart and vasospasm.
Delay in urination, which occurs due to relaxation of the sphincters.

The first place cause of death among patients with botulism is the development of acute respiratory failure. Slightly less often, patients who were not provided with qualified medical care die due to severe heart damage.

Botulism in conservation: signs (photo)

The main danger of botulinum toxin is that it is not noticeable visually or tastefully. In addition, microorganisms can only develop in part of the product without affecting the entire contents of the jar. Only in some cases can one suspect botulism in conservation. Symptoms in mushrooms and vegetables may include a swollen lid. If this is obvious, such a preparation should never be eaten as food, it can be deadly.

Moreover, mushrooms are the most susceptible to this problem. It is they, in canned form, that often lead to infection. This can be explained very simply: if the mushrooms are not thoroughly cleaned of soil contamination before pickling, they become a source of clostridia. If the container is not thoroughly sterilized, microorganisms multiply immediately after sealing. Thus, salted and pickled mushrooms can always be a potentially dangerous product.

Protection rules

The only way to avoid the risk of infection is to avoid canned vegetables and meats. Eat foods fresh and prepare enough to eat within one to two days. Do not store in sealed jars: if there is access to air, botulinum toxin is not produced.

The best way to prepare mushrooms for the winter is to dry them (Photo: Pixabay.com)

If it is impossible to refuse homemade preparations, follow these rules.

Keep clean. Thoroughly wash and sterilize everything you come into contact with when preparing canned food: jars, lids, ladle. Wash and iron kitchen towels.
Use safe preparation techniques. Salt and pickle non-acidic vegetables. In the presence of salt and vinegar, the bacterium does not produce a toxin, so you can safely eat cucumbers, eggplants, and zucchini. The only way to safely prepare mushrooms is to dry them.
Sterilize jars and their contents. For seaming without adding enough salt and vinegar, sterilization is important. Place the food inside the jar, fill it with brine, place it in a container of water, and wait until it boils. Boil for 20 minutes.

First safety rules

Botulism in conservation, the signs of which are not always noticeable, can be prevented by following certain rules. To avoid fatal poisoning, it is important to fully comply with safety precautions.

Firstly, the jars must be subjected to very thorough sterilization and closed strictly hermetically. If there is even a small influx of air into the container, the workpieces are likely to deteriorate.
Secondly, you can only preserve fresh mushrooms that have been stored assembled for a minimum time. Under no circumstances should you keep them for a long time before harvesting. This product should also be collected with caution, only in safe places. Mushrooms that grew near industrial areas, as well as near highways, have a much greater risk of infection.
Thirdly, you need to be careful when preparing mushrooms using the hot method, which involves using a boiling marinade. It is believed that such a product can be eaten immediately. At the same time, in order to prevent botulism in canned food, the signs of which will be difficult to determine, it is necessary to keep the product in the refrigerator for a long time, at least 10 days. This measure will help destroy toxins. If you use long-term dry pickling, you must store the mushrooms for at least one month in the refrigerator.

Harm

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It's harvesting season in the Urals. How to avoid becoming a victim of botulism Nutritionists have no doubt that even the best canned food made according to all the rules is not a very healthy food. They contain too much salt, spices, sugar. Those substances that the heat treatment did not have time to kill off are killed by vinegar. And tin cans contain a lot of oil and fat. All these components are harmful in large quantities. Also, various preservatives and taste improvers are often placed in jars, which definitely will not bring any benefit to the body.

Smoked products inside cans should be treated with great caution, since after such a procedure, a toxic carcinogen, benzopyrene, can form in the meat under certain conditions.

So, constant consumption of cannery products can harm the body, upset metabolism, damage the gastric mucosa, and so on. But these are not all the dangers of canned food.

Meat preparations and botulism

As already noted, a contaminated product may not show any signs. The preparation does not change its taste, color or smell. Another difficulty is that bacteria often develop locally, and focal botulism is observed in conservation. It is impossible to detect signs in the stew, since the toxin may be present in a small fragment of the product. This will complicate the diagnosis in case of infection, since several people can eat from one can, but only one will get sick.

How does botulinum toxin get into jam or jam?

The penetration of spores into canned food is due to several factors:

improper or insufficient processing of raw materials;
using earth-contaminated utensils.

A clear indicator of poor fruit washing and sterilization of jars is swelling of the lid. This is the first sign of poor quality jam. It is better to dispose of such treats immediately to avoid infection with botulism.

Since the toxin is not able to change the structure of the jam, taste or smell, it is impossible to determine its presence in the delicacy yourself. This can only be done in the laboratory.

Being in favorable oxygen-free conditions, the spores actively multiply and produce poison.

Since the products are prepared for future use and will sit for several months before they are opened, the pathogen will have time to turn the delicacy into poison.

Canned botulism: signs in tomatoes and other vegetables

Mushrooms and root vegetables are most often infected with clostridia, and other vegetables to a lesser extent. Carrots and beets pose the greatest risk because they are most likely to retain soil particles. To protect yourself, you need to wash the vegetables to be preserved very thoroughly. This should be done under running water and repeated several times, which will reduce the danger such as botulism in conservation.

Signs in cucumbers and other canned vegetables can be expressed not only in a swollen lid, but also in gas bubbles on the surface of the workpiece. In addition, the cloudy consistency of the contents of the jar can also indicate danger. It is also worth remembering that botulinum toxin can only be detected in the laboratory, and the above signs may indicate contamination of the product with other microorganisms.

Is it safe to eat bloated jam jars?

It is advisable to throw away all swollen cans without regret and under no circumstances taste them. We must remember that a negligible dose of botulinum toxin is required for the development of the disease.

In exceptional cases, if you really hate throwing away the jam, you can boil it, but for at least 15 minutes. After all, botulinum toxin dies after 15 minutes of boiling.

Do you make jam for the winter?

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Which canned foods are the most dangerous?

As mentioned above, the greatest danger is from canned meat and mushrooms. Vegetables and fruits, as well as jam, are less dangerous. Botulinum toxin is practically not found in preserves containing large amounts of vinegar.

As you can see, the danger of infection is always present. Therefore, it is best to refrain from preparing home-made preserves and opt for industrially produced products. Only this measure will help to completely eliminate such a danger as botulism in conservation. The signs in jam may be the same as in vegetables (changes in the consistency of the product and gas bubbles), or they may be completely absent. Therefore, it is better to opt for preparations in the form of open cans, without creating anaerobic conditions.

Correct heat treatment

In fact, it is very difficult to kill the botulism microbe at home. Even if you boil a product at a temperature of 100 C°, you cannot guarantee that it will die. In industrial production, before preservation, many products, especially meat and fish, undergo long-term processing in autoclaves. But, in any case, when canning at home, sterilization of jars should last no less than 15 minutes.

If, nevertheless, preservation is done at home, before rolling it up with a lid, it is necessary to boil for at least 20 minutes. Also, after the product has been opened, it can be boiled again before use.