Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body's nerves and causes difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and even death.
This toxin is made by Clostridium botulinum and sometimes Clostridium butyricum and Clostridium baratii bacteria.
Low-acid foods are the most common sources of botulism linked to home canning.
These foods have a pH level greater than 4.6.
Low-acid foods include most vegetables (including asparagus, green beans, beets, corn, and potatoes), some fruits (including some tomatoes and figs), milk, all meats, fish, and other seafood.
A type of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum produces the toxin.
Botulism can occur as the result of food or wound contamination.
The condition can also occur when bacterial spores grow in the intestines of infants.
In rare cases, botulism can also be caused by medical treatment or bioterrorism.
Any food can contain botulism but some foods are more common and more associated with botulism than others.
The most common foods that are associated with botulism are foods such as low-acid preserved vegetables including foods such as green beans, spinach, mushrooms, and beets; fish, including canned tuna, fermented, salted and smoked fish; and meat products, such as ham and sausage.
Botulism can sometimes be prevented but not always.
If the botulism is in food then ensuring the food is stored properly, handled properly and also ensuring the food is cooked all the way and heated up enough can help prevent botulism.
However botulism is also in soil and dust that we can breathe in so it's still possible to get botulism that way.
If you think some food may have botulism it's best to throw it out and not risk getting sick.
boiling does kill botulism as long as you boil the botulism long enough.
Botulism is pretty heat resistant up to 185 F degrees so simply cooking something on the stove cannot kill botulism but if you boil the food that contains botulism and boil the food for at least 5 minutes or longer the botulism bacteria will be destroyed.
Botulism is unable to survive temperatures above 185 F.
Even baking foods to a high enough temperature can kill off botulism but even then if you think or know food might have botulism bacteria in it it's best to just throw the food out and not risk getting sick.
Botulism can be deadly and it's not worth it.
If I think food has botulism I throw it out to avoid getting sick as my life and my health is worth more than I paid for the food.