FDA recalls green beans on botulism concern

Thank God I buy frozen!

This is freaking rediculous that every week you turn on the tv and they're talking about "Oh no check your cans, they may kill you if they have this code on them..."

Oh, good googly-mooglies! Does the USA not have a 'work ethic' anymore? Can't people do their jobs right? Forget it, I'm just not going to the grocery store anymore! Who wants to go in on a working farm with me?

Amen Squeaks. Grow your own or buy local. It's getting way more than ridiculous. I just canned several quarts of beans from my garden last week. Now I'm really glad I did. Sheesh.

This is awful, can't trust anything you buy at the store anymore. For all you people who don't pray over your food before you eat...you better start it.

Squeaks wrote:

Oh, good googly-mooglies! Does the USA not have a 'work ethic' anymore? Can't people do their jobs right? Forget it, I'm just not going to the grocery store anymore! Who wants to go in on a working farm with me?

I will!

Woman of the Lake wrote:

Amen Squeaks. Grow your own or buy local. It's getting way more than ridiculous. I just canned several quarts of beans from my garden last week. Now I'm really glad I did. Sheesh.

We would be better off if we did grow out own food at least we would know what's in it.

from medicinenet.com
"Outbreaks of food-borne botulism involving two or more persons are usually caused by eating contaminated home- canned foods."

This scares me because in the past week my family and I have eaten at least 2 cans of french cut green beans. Does anyone know if this could also be contaminating Wal-Mart's 'Great Value' brand? I would look at the cans, but they've been trashed. I'm kind of worried...especially because my legs have been bothering me and giving out for the last two days. I may be paranoid, but botulism is extremely dangerous.

THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE ANYONE IS NOT TO USE ANY KIND OF SANITIZERS AROUND YOUR HOUSE. YOU KILL ABOUT HALF THE GERMS AND THE OTHERS ARE MADE MORE RESISTANT. THROW AWAY THE HAND SANITIZERS. LET YOUR KIDS GET DIRTY, IT WON'T HURT THEM. I'VE SEEN KIDS SET AND PLAY IN THEIR OWN CRAP AND EAT IT AND IT DIDN'T HURT THEM.

I'VE BEEN DOWN IN MEXICO WHERE EVERYONE TELLS YOU NOT TO DRINK THE WATER AND I DRUNK IT, AND IT DIDN'T HURT ME. BUT I'VE SEEN PEOPLE ORDER A SALAD THAT WAS WASHED IN THE SAME WATER AND GET THE GALLOPING GO'S FOR FOUR OR FIVE DAYS. WHY DOES IT AFFECT ONE PERSON AND NOT ANOTHER?

I'VE HAD EVER CHILDHOOD DISEASE THAT YOU CAN THINK OF. I WENT IN THE SERVICE IN THE LATE 60's AND GOT MALARIA, HEPATITIS AND TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE TB GERM WHEN I GOT BACK. I'LL ALWAYS HAVE THOSE THREE.

WHEN I MAKE MY BIRDS WATER UP I ADD GERMS TO IT AND BOTULISM IS ONE OF THEM. IT KEEPS THEM HEALTHY.

WHEN I WANT CANNED VEGETABLES OR FRESH I BOIL THEM FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO KILL THE GERMS. I DON'T HEAT CANNED FOOD IN THE MICROWAVE. I COOK IT TO THE BOILING POINT FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN REDUCE THE HEAT. I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIVE PAST 212 DEGREES, HAVE YOU?

LISTEN TO ENOUGH MEDIA HYPE AND YOU'LL PROBABLY STARVE TO DEATH. KINDLY LIKE WHEN THESE NEWS PEOPLE HOLLER SNOW. THEY GET A LOT OF ATTENTION AND PANIC A LOT OF PEOPLE.

Even home grown and home canned can be hazardous.
I remember scares as a child when someone would get sick from home canned food.

But, since we have to rely on manufacturers to provide food, we need to have a very diligent FDA doing their job.
And, since we know about this newest scare, they did.
It is true you can help your self by getting acquainted with what contaminated or bad food looks like and get rid of it.
Boiling to a certain degree will destroy bad microbes.

KOJACK wrote:

THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE ANYONE IS NOT TO USE ANY KIND OF SANITIZERS AROUND YOUR HOUSE. YOU KILL ABOUT HALF THE GERMS AND THE OTHERS ARE MADE MORE RESISTANT. THROW AWAY THE HAND SANITIZERS. LET YOUR KIDS GET DIRTY, IT WON'T HURT THEM. I'VE SEEN KIDS SET AND PLAY IN THEIR OWN CRAP AND EAT IT AND IT DIDN'T HURT THEM.
I'VE BEEN DOWN IN MEXICO WHERE EVERYONE TELLS YOU NOT TO DRINK THE WATER AND I DRUNK IT, AND IT DIDN'T HURT ME. BUT I'VE SEEN PEOPLE ORDER A SALAD THAT WAS WASHED IN THE SAME WATER AND GET THE GALLOPING GO'S FOR FOUR OR FIVE DAYS. WHY DOES IT AFFECT ONE PERSON AND NOT ANOTHER?
I'VE HAD EVER CHILDHOOD DISEASE THAT YOU CAN THINK OF. I WENT IN THE SERVICE IN THE LATE 60's AND GOT MALARIA, HEPATITIS AND TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE TB GERM WHEN I GOT BACK. I'LL ALWAYS HAVE THOSE THREE.
WHEN I MAKE MY BIRDS WATER UP I ADD GERMS TO IT AND BOTULISM IS ONE OF THEM. IT KEEPS THEM HEALTHY.
WHEN I WANT CANNED VEGETABLES OR FRESH I BOIL THEM FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO KILL THE GERMS. I DON'T HEAT CANNED FOOD IN THE MICROWAVE. I COOK IT TO THE BOILING POINT FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN REDUCE THE HEAT. I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIVE PAST 212 DEGREES, HAVE YOU?
LISTEN TO ENOUGH MEDIA HYPE AND YOU'LL PROBABLY STARVE TO DEATH. KINDLY LIKE WHEN THESE NEWS PEOPLE HOLLER SNOW. THEY GET A LOT OF ATTENTION AND PANIC A LOT OF PEOPLE.

MISINFORMATION- Botulism is does not kill with living bacteria but rather with a toxic waster product from the bacteria which is actually a neurotoxin. You can heat it past 212 all day and it won't matter.

I think that this is rediculous. These people should be cautious to be sending these canned food to us. They should test them before they even hit the trucks to be delivered to our local grocers.Its scary to think that this is what the world is coming to.Whats next?

Woman of the Lake wrote:

Amen Squeaks. Grow your own or buy local. It's getting way more than ridiculous. I just canned several quarts of beans from my garden last week. Now I'm really glad I did. Sheesh.

How much you get for a jar? LOL!!

Walmart's Great Value beans were not on the list.

Did these beans come from CHINA??????????

This is a DNC ploy to get Hillary elected.

KOJACK wrote:

THE BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE ANYONE IS NOT TO USE ANY KIND OF SANITIZERS AROUND YOUR HOUSE. YOU KILL ABOUT HALF THE GERMS AND THE OTHERS ARE MADE MORE RESISTANT. THROW AWAY THE HAND SANITIZERS. LET YOUR KIDS GET DIRTY, IT WON'T HURT THEM. I'VE SEEN KIDS SET AND PLAY IN THEIR OWN CRAP AND EAT IT AND IT DIDN'T HURT THEM.
I'VE BEEN DOWN IN MEXICO WHERE EVERYONE TELLS YOU NOT TO DRINK THE WATER AND I DRUNK IT, AND IT DIDN'T HURT ME. BUT I'VE SEEN PEOPLE ORDER A SALAD THAT WAS WASHED IN THE SAME WATER AND GET THE GALLOPING GO'S FOR FOUR OR FIVE DAYS. WHY DOES IT AFFECT ONE PERSON AND NOT ANOTHER?
I'VE HAD EVER CHILDHOOD DISEASE THAT YOU CAN THINK OF. I WENT IN THE SERVICE IN THE LATE 60's AND GOT MALARIA, HEPATITIS AND TESTED POSITIVE FOR THE TB GERM WHEN I GOT BACK. I'LL ALWAYS HAVE THOSE THREE.
WHEN I MAKE MY BIRDS WATER UP I ADD GERMS TO IT AND BOTULISM IS ONE OF THEM. IT KEEPS THEM HEALTHY.
WHEN I WANT CANNED VEGETABLES OR FRESH I BOIL THEM FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES TO KILL THE GERMS. I DON'T HEAT CANNED FOOD IN THE MICROWAVE. I COOK IT TO THE BOILING POINT FOR A FEW MINUTES AND THEN REDUCE THE HEAT. I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIVE PAST 212 DEGREES, HAVE YOU?
LISTEN TO ENOUGH MEDIA HYPE AND YOU'LL PROBABLY STARVE TO DEATH. KINDLY LIKE WHEN THESE NEWS PEOPLE HOLLER SNOW. THEY GET A LOT OF ATTENTION AND PANIC A LOT OF PEOPLE.

As a microbiologist, I'd like to set the record straight here.

Regarding resistance: The true issue of resistance is about antibiotics, not hand sanitizers. If one is prescribed antibiotics, ALL should be taken according to instructions. One should NOT stop taking them just because s/he feels better.

A little dirt doesn't hurt kids, although I don't think I'd advocate letting them play in crap.

The best, cheapest sanitizer is a fresh solution of 10 percent bleach and water. It kills most everything out there. Hand sanitizers are good -- and work better than soap and water. My professional laboratory research in different hand-cleaning methods show that sanitizers kill 99 percent of the germs --- yes, including the "good" germs. However, our bodies have an abundance of "good germs" that repopulate the cleansed area rather quickly.

Frankly, I'm not impressed that someone would brag about poor hygiene techniques and then brag that he has hepatitis. Duh.

Adding botulism to his bird's water? If he's keeping a supply on hand perhaps Kojak needs to be investigated as a terrorist. One nanogram of botulinum toxin is enough to sicken the entire population of Los Angeles. It is the strongest toxin known to man. I highly doubt he's adding this to his bird's water.

Regarding boiling his food past 212 degrees, it is a good practice. However, clostridium botulinum, the bacteria that produces botulism toxin, producses spores. These seed-like objects easily survive boiling to grow anew and sicken people who eat the food.

As for anything living beyond 212 degrees F, on the ocean floor, bacteria live around thermal vents that prefer temperatures around 1500 degress Celsius.

Perhaps Kojak needs to research his facts before giving medical advice that could endanger someone's life.

KOJACK wrote:

<quoted text>
NOBODY EVER SAID THE BEANS WERE BAD. NOBODYS GOT SICK ON THEM. THE COMPANY SAID THEY WERE CANNED AT A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN A TEMPURATURE THAN THEY THOUGHT OPTIMAL. OPEN THEM UP AND IF THEY FOAM AND STINK THEN THROW THEM AWAY. BUT IF THEY SMELL LIKE BEAN THEN EAT THEM. BUT I STILL BOIL THEM.I THOUGHT THE COMPANY WAS PRETTY GOOD TO TAKE THE HIT ON THIS. BY THE WAY BOTULISM ISN'T PRESENT AT THE FACTORY IT SETS IN LATER.

More poor info from Kojak.

Obviously if the beans foam and stink, throw them away. But Just because they smell like beans doesn't mean the toxin isn't present.

Also, the comment "Botulism isn't present at the factory, it sets in later" is totally erroneous. Botulism is ubiquitous -- it lives everywhere in our soil. We just kill it through proper canning techniques ... a combination of temperature, pressure, and time that must be honored to ensure the safety of our food.

Contrary to Kojak's statement, botulism WAS present on the green beans when they came into the factory. If they don't kill it in the canning process, it will grow in the can to the point of causing illness upon consumption.

And no, you can't kill it by boiling alone.

(NOTE: Many bacteria can be killed by boiling, but botulism is one exception. Illness is actually caused by the toxins produced by the clostridium botulinum bacteria, not by the bacteria itself. The toxins survive the heat of boiling.)