Botulism
What causes 'food-borne botulism'?
Botulism is the spread of a toxin that comes from the food because an organism, the botulinum organism, is living and growing in that container. It's often from food cans that are a little bit dented or cracked in such a way that just the tiniest amount of air can get in and bacteria can get in, leading to the overgrowth of this organism. So it's an organism that doesn't like a lot of oxygen. You wouldn't find this organism growing out on a food counter. It needs to be in these really tightly confined, closed up containers, but then it's the right environment for it to overgrow. And then when you open up the can and you eat the contents, it can have high levels of the toxin that comes from the bacteria that's a nerve poison and can lead to death.
Can I contract botulism from home-canning?
Home-canning is a great idea, it's a way for you to use the materials in your garden and put them up for the wintertime, but home-canning unfortunately can lead to botulism poisoning as well. You're dealing with a sealed up container, which if it's not properly sealed, can allow just a little bit of oxygen into the container. This can allow for the growth and the introduction of this kind of an agent, so you could end up poisoning your family if the cans aren't properly sealed. So you want to have the right kind of Mason jar and seal it up properly under vacuum pressure, so that you are not allowing this organism to grow.
What are the symptoms of food-borne botulism?
The symptoms are typical symptoms of nerve damage where you've got slurred speech, difficult coordination. There could be muscle twitching or muscle weakness that could lead to difficulty in breathing and eventually to shutting down of your nervous system and inability to properly function and paralysis and death. The symptoms aren't immediate so you might not associate it with the last thing you ate, but it could be delayed by 18 to 36 hours until the toxin has a chance to distribute into your system and have its effect. So if you have these kinds of nerve symptoms you should look 18 to 36 hours prior to see what you might have been exposed to.
Can botulism be treated?
Fortunately, if diagnosed early there is a way to decrease the symptoms and actually save someone who may be highly over exposed with an antitoxin or an antidote that prevents the action of this nerve toxin.
