Emma Miller
According to general practitioner Heorhii Sapego, boiling will not prevent home canned food from becoming contaminated with dangerous bacteria.
Some home-canned foods are potentially dangerous because they can cause a serious disease called botulism.
Canned vegetables and meat, dried fish, and fermented artisanal products may contain botulinum toxin, a deadly substance. It is produced by microorganisms that multiply under certain conditions, Sapego said. Eating food contaminated with this toxin leads to a serious illness called botulism.
“Botulism is a toxin poisoning produced by certain microbes. Botulinum toxin is extremely dangerous even in microscopic amounts – it causes severe damage to the nervous system up to and including death. These microbes multiply in the absence of air, at low acidity, and mostly at room temperature,” Sapego said.
According to the doctor, boiling will not prevent the product from being contaminated with bacteria that cause botulism.
“The spores of the microbe can withstand boiling, and if you don’t have a special pressure sterilizer at home, canning turns into a lottery. Spores may or may not get into the canning jar. It is unpredictable,” Sapego summarized.
