Putting Botulism Worries into Perspective

As recalls go, it is massive and, for countless consumers, perhaps even scary when one begins to put the sheer scale of this recall into perspective.

“Go back two years,” writes Kevin Freking in the Saginaw News. “Consider that the plant in question in an outbreak of botulism produced 10,000 cases of canned food a day, and that each case contains 24 cans.”

To put it another way, the federal government is asking U.S. consumers to purge their shelves of tens of millions of cans, representing about 90 products ranging from chili and and beef stew to other meat products manufactured at a Castleberry’s Food Company plant in Augusta, Ga.

For many consumers, though, it’s the cause rather than the scope of this recall that is most unsettling. Unlike the massive peanut butter recall earlier this year associated with salmonella, this recall has been linked to a toxin that can kill as readily as it sickens.

“It’s one of the most deadly toxins known to humanity,” says Jean Weese, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System food safety specialist and Auburn University professor of nutrition and food science.

Symptoms of botulism poisoning in humans can begin from six hours to two weeks after eating food that contains the toxin and may include double vision, blurred vision, drooping eyelids, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing and muscle weakness that moves progressively down the body, affecting the shoulders first then descending to the upper arms, lower arms, thighs, calves, etc. Botulism poisoning can also cause paralysis of the breathing muscles, which can result in death unless assistance with breathing (mechanical ventilation) is provided.

Officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration urge any individual who experiences any of these symptoms after consuming one of the recalled Castleberry products to seek immediate medical attention.

Botulism is serious business. But just as the scope of this recall should be put into perspective, so should the severity of this threat, Weese says. So far, officials are aware of only four cases of botulism, compared with more than 200 confirmed illnesses associated with a last year’s outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 in baby spinach.

Also, despite this recent episode, the fact remains that in historic terms, the likelihood of dying from exposure to botulism from consuming a canned product such as chili is exceedingly rare compared with other types of food-borne illness.

“The standards have been around for a long time and, historically speaking, the industry has adhered to them very well,” Weese says.

Weese describes the procedures governing commercial canning as even stricter than those associated with Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points, a rigorous food safety system developed by NASA for deep space missions and adopted widely by many facets of the U.S. food industry.

“With HACCP, you’re maintaining strict standards and you’re monitoring the process periodically, but with canned products, there’s no letting up because of the botulism concerns,” Weese says.

The temperatures and pressures associated with low-acid food canning are constantly monitored.

Likewise, adequate cooking has proven to be an effective safeguard against the toxin. Heating a product to a rolling boil for roughly five minutes detoxifies it, though Weese cautions that this is no excuse for consumers to attempt heroics following this most recent recall. Any product included in this recall should be discarded immediately, she stresses.

“People say that if you cook it you won’t get sick,” Weese says. “But why even cook it if there is risk of becoming seriously ill or even dying?”

The recall involves Castleberry’s brand, Austex, Best Yet, Big Y, Black Rock, Bloom, Bunker Hill, Cattle Drive, Food Club, Great Value, Goldstar, Kroger, Lowes Food, Meijer, Morton House, Paramount, Prudence, Southern Home, Thrifty Maid, Triple Bar and Value Time.

Posted by Jim Langcuster at July 25, 2007 04:46 PM