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Laura Hahn
Clostridium botulinum in Canned Foods
Clostridium botulinum is a deadly foodborne illness caused by bacteria cells. The bacteria
produces toxins that harm the people who ingest food contaminated with Clostridium botulinum.
This illness is extremely serious and dangerous. Any speculation or occurrence of this illness
should be reported to the health department and/or the facility that the contaminated food was
consumed or purchased from immediately, to avoid other people from eating the contaminated
food. This particular illness is one of the biggest concerns of the commercial food canning
industry, as well as in homes that can food.
Clostridium botulinum is an anaerobic bacteria, making canned foods a thriving
environment for the bacteria cells to reproduce. Air-tight cans of food give the bacteria good
conditions to grow in because of the lack of oxygen. This makes canned foods extremely
susceptible to hosting this harmful bacteria, and is the root for concern in both the commercial
and home canning industry (1).
The toxin, botulinum, affects the body by recruiting a binding component and being
delivered to the interior of a eukaryotic cell. There are several kinds of toxins of botulinum that
are associated with foodborne illness (2). The toxins produced by this bacteria are some of the
most lethal and potent toxins known to scientists (3). Symptoms generally appear in affected
individuals within eighteen to thirty-six hours after ingestion. However, some symptoms may
appear as early as six hours, or as late as ten days after ingestions. People infected with
Clostridium botulinum may experience an array of symptoms that can escalate very quickly to
fatal outcomes if not treated immediately. Fatigue, weakness of muscles and body, vertigo,
blurred vision, difficulty speaking, paralysis and death are some of the common reactions from
this foodborne illness (4). More than 60% of Clostridium botulinum victims go into respiratory
arrest and need mechanical ventilation (1). It is important to immediately seek medical attention,
as well as understand the symptoms of Clostridium botulinum, as many people can mistake the
effects of this disease for being a stroke. Seeking help is necessary even if there are speculations
of this disease being present in a host body.

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There are several foods that have a strong association with containing Clostridium
botulinum bacteria. This toxin-producing bacteria is most commonly sourced from soil,
vegetables, and water. As vegetables are a typical and common food to be canned, canned foods
are at a large risk for being contaminated with Clostridium botulinum. This particular illness is a
huge concern for both the commercial food industry as well as foods canned in homes. To keep
commercially canned foods safe from this bacteria, there are very strict and regulated
sterilization processes. Machinery, surfaces, and foods must be cleaned properly. Workers are
monitored to ensure gloves are clean and changed regularly to avoid contamination (5). The food
must be cooked at the proper temperature for the proper duration of time before being canned.
Also, the temperature at which fruits and vegetables are poured into the cans are closely
monitored to ensure that it is not in the Temperature Danger Zone (6). The employees of
facilities that commercially can foods are trained on proper techniques and are aware of dangers
associated with foodborne illnesses.
Foods that are canned in homes have a greater risk of being contaminated with
Clostridium botulinum that foods that are commercially canned. If people even bother to use
thermometers, home thermometers are often not calibrated correctly to ensure that the food is
being cooked to the proper temperature for the proper duration of time, and it can be difficult to
know the exact temperature of the food when it is being poured into the cans (7). Many people
are uneducated on the importance of sanitizing cooking surfaces and avoiding crosscontamination. Knives, cutting boards, pots, cans, and any other utensils used during the canning
process should be cleaned thoroughly before and after being used. The best way to sanitize the
cans that are being used to store the food, is to fully submerge the can into a pot of boiling water
for a specific duration of time. The heat of the boiling water disinfects any potential microbes
present in the can (6). Another potential issue for food canned at home is that containers may not
be sealed properly before being stored at room temperature, giving bacteria an opportunity to
enter the can and contaminate the food (1).
Research has found that there are several different quality characteristics of food that
hold different risks of having Clostridium botulinum bacteria reproduction. The prime water
activity levels to promote bacteria growth is between 0.851 and 0.959. If a particular food has a
water activity level in this danger zone, bacteria can reproduce very rapidly, doubling in

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quantity every twenty minutes. The higher the water activity in food, the more important the
sterilization process is for canned food (8). Low-acid foods are also extremely susceptible to
foodborne illnesses, as bacteria favor acidic conditions. Fortunately, the acidity levels of food do
not change over time in food that has been properly canned (8). Other than acidic, and high
moisture foods, leftover food that has not been properly reheated, garlic and oil mixtures, and
under-processed foods are also highly associated with Clostridium botulinum (3).
There are several steps that can be taken to ensure that food canned at home holds the
lowest risk possible for hosting Clostridium botulinum bacteria. People should educate
themselves on the proper techniques of kitchen cleaning, proper cooking preparation, and the
canning process. All food should be thoroughly washed; all visible dirt and microorganisms
should be washed off (8). All cooking of the food should be thorough, and the food should be
brought to the appropriate temperature for the necessary duration of time. The food should be
kept at a safe temperature and out of the Temperature Danger Zone while being poured into the
can (8). The cans should be cleaned and sterilized before the food is added. After the food is in
the can, the can should be sealed shut to ensure that nothing can invade the can and contaminate
the food inside. It is important to discard defective cans that have cracks, dents, or chips. Using
cans that have defects in them can allow Clostridium botulinum to intrude and get into the food
(1).
The occurrences of Clostridium botulinum illnesses are relatively rare in the United
States. Currently, only ten to thirty cases are reported each year. However, since people do not
report the illness quickly enough, the death rate of the reported incidences is very high. It is
critical for the health of every community for the people contaminated to seek immediate
medical attention for the illness (3).
Every person is at risk for contracting a foodborne illness, including Clostridium
botulinum. However, certain populations are at a higher risk and more susceptible than others.
The elderly, young children, pregnant women, and immunocompromised individuals need to
take extra caution when preparing food to ensure that all steps are taken to avoid foodborne
illness as much as possible (2).

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Clostridium botulinum is a deadly foodborne illness. Everyone should be aware of this

illness and the importance of being preventative in the kitchen. Improper cooking, canning, and
materials can be dangerous to anyone who consumes canned food.

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Work Cited
1. Date, Fagan, Crossland. Three outbreaks of foodborne botulism caused by unsafe home
canning of vegetables. Journal of food protection. 2011 July 9; 74 (12): 2090-2096).
2. Nagahama, Takahashi, Aoyanagi, Tashiro, Kabayashi, Sakaguchi, Ishidoh, Sakurai.
Intracellular trafficking of Clostridium botulinum C2 toxin. Toxicon. 2014 Feb 26; 82
(14): 76-82.
3. Davis, pc. Botulism [Internet]. Stoppler, MC; 2014 [updated 2014 Oct 7; cited 2015 Oct
19]. available from: http://www.medicinenet.com/botulism/article.htm
4. Sakaguchi, Suzuki, Yamamoto, Nishikawa, Oguma. Genomics of Clostridium botulinum
group III strains. Microbiology. 2014 Aug 19; 166 (2015): 318-325.
5. Anderson, Larkin, Cole, Skinner, Hall. Food safety objective approach for controlling
Clostridium botulinum growth and toxin production in commercially sterile foods.
Journal of food protection. 2011 June 20; 74 (11): (1956-1989).
6. Skinner, Fleischman, Balster, Reineke, Reddy, Larkin. Effect of fill temperature on
Clostridium botulinum type a toxin activity during the hot filling of juice bottles. Journal
of food protection. 2015 April 9; 78 (8): 1506-1511.
7. Padmavati, Anandharamakrishnan. Computational fluid dynamics modeling the thermal
processing of canned pineapple slices. Food biopress. 2012 May 8; 6 (13): 882-895.
8. McKee, Myers, Leger, Lopez, Remmenga. Quality of characteristics for home canning.
Journal of food processing and preservation. 2010 Oct 25; 17 (45): 784-90.