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October 26, 2015

Oven canning, or open kettle canning is a dangerous fad being perpetuated across the internet as a great alternative to traditional canning methods. Folks, don’t risk your life on it. 

The crazy ideas some people have about home canning are going to get someone killed. Botulism will kill you people. It is nothing to mess around with.

Botulinum toxin, one of the most poisonous biological substances known, is a neurotoxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. In the United States, an average of 145 cases are reported each year.Of these, approximately 15% are foodborne, 65% are infant botulism, and 20% are wound. Adult intestinal colonization and iatrogenic botulism also occur, but rarely. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur most years and are usually caused by home-canned foods. Most wound botulism cases are associated with black-tar heroin injection, especially in California. – CDC

I get that in a country as large as the United States 145 cases a year isn’t that many. Are you willing to risk your life on it? Honestly, botulism will kill you. It is a nerve toxin. It will shut you down. If, by some chance, you manage to beat it you may suffer for years.

Botulism can result in death due to respiratory failure. However, in the past 50 years the proportion of patients with botulism who die has fallen from about 50% to 3-5%. A patient with severe botulism may require a breathing machine as well as intensive medical and nursing care for several months, and some patients die from infections or other problems related to remaining paralyzed for weeks or months. Patients who survive an episode of botulism poisoning may have fatigue and shortness of breath for years and long-term therapy may be needed to aid recovery. – CDC

The oven canning fad basically says you put hot food in hot jars in the oven for a period of time and it is as good as water-bath or pressure canning. This is wrong.

Open-kettle canning and the processing of freshly filled jars in conventional ovens, microwave ovens, and dishwashers are not recommended, because these practices do not prevent all risks of spoilage. – NCHFP

In my opinion, it isn’t worth the rolling of dice. I am not so arrogant that I will cop an attitude and sass you with a “The government can’t tell you if you should eat eggs. I won’t listen to them on home canning.” There are areas where I disagree with the government, but food safety isn’t one.

I recently tripped across this post by The Survivalist Blog. It is on the money! Read it through then read the massive number of comments. You can see that some people would rather risk poisoning themselves or their families rather than observe up-to-date home food storage recommendations.

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