Posted on 05/20/2010 2:01:14 AM PDT by djf
If I want imported produce, I can go to any grocery store, but when I go to a farmers market, I want LOCALLY GROWN PRODUCE.
A few years ago I read some articles describing sellers purchasing huge bulk shipments of various veggies from China, and then passing them off as locally grown ORGANICS, lol, at farmers markets throughout America and they made a lot of money with their fraudulent scheme.
But it is very irritating that there is NO place to safely & honestly purchase AMERICAN grown food in AMERICA.
I think there have been articles posted here at FR that even during the traditional GILROY GARLIC FESTIVAL that almost ALL of the garlic in Gilroy, California is imported from China.
Thanks.
“Does anyone know if there is a home test type thing for botulism toxin?”
Probably not, but there have been proven canning methods around for decades which eliminate any chance of botulism or other food contamination. The official government site is a good place to start:
You can taste BPA? When measured in parts per billion? The things some people will believe.....
Chemical testing seems to corroborate my 'agenda' against.
You can find just about any chemical you want in your blood or urine if you're willing to measure for it in specific amounts. Just because some chemical is present doesn't mean it's harmful.
Do you avoid potatoes because they contain arsenic? Do you avoid orange juice because it has limonene (paint stripper)? Do you avoid cooked bacon bacause of the powerful carcinogens present? Do you have an agenda against coffee because it has benzene? Do you not eat nuts because they contain aflatoxin?
You eat dangerous chemical compounds every day and don't know it. How do you survive? What do you eat? How can you possibly manage the fear?
Chemicalphobes are funny.
From what I have read, heating it to 176 degrees destroys the toxin.
That means bringing it to a boil for two minutes.
Might not be very tasty after, but won’t kill ya.
“From what I have read, heating it to 176 degrees destroys the toxin.”
NO, not if you’re on the Fahrenheit scale. Killing the botulism bacteria is the whole point of pressure canning for low acid foods. Boiling water will heat to a significantly higher temperature under pressure than just boiling normally.
“Botulinum spores are very hard to destroy at boiling-water temperatures; the higher the canner temperature, the more easily they are destroyed. Therefore, all low-acid foods should be sterilized at temperatures of 240° to 250°F, attainable with pressure canners operated at 10 to 15 PSIG. PSIG means pounds per square inch of pressure as measured by gauge. The more familiar “PSI” designation is used hereafter in this publication (the Complete Guide to Home Canning). At temperatures of 240° to 250°F, the time needed to destroy bacteria in low-acid canned food ranges from 20 to 100 minutes.”
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general/ensuring_safe_canned_foods.html
Read it again.
“destroys the toxin”
If you can it, and get ready to eat it six months later, if it’s been infected, heating it to 176 degrees makes it safe to eat.
What is your source for that?
If that's all it took, there'd be no point in pressure canning to begin with. It'd be like most meats: just head to a certain temperature and it's safe.
While the botulinum spores are heat stable, the toxin itself is heat-labile, so heating a food to 176°F for 10 minutes before consumption can greatly reduce the risk of illness.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs104
Wiki says the toxin can be killed by boiling at unspecified "high temperatures" for 20 minutes. But the toxin is so deadly all food safety measures are directed toward preventing the spores from ever growing into the toxin, rather than methods to kill toxin that might be on canned foods that weren't pressure canned.
From that link, and that is presented as an additional safety step for properly, pressure canned foods, not as a substitute for pressure canning.
You just want to argue, don’t you?
You asked for a link, and I gave you the link.
I stated the facts.
Find somebody else to play with.
You're the one playing, and very irresponsibly at that. No responsible entity or person would even suggest that it is acceptable to try and prevent botulism by using methods to kill the toxin in low acid, canned food just before consuming, that was not properly pressure canned. For decades, the only responsible approach to preventing botulism in canned foods was to pressure can at the proper temperature and for the proper length of time, NOT to attempt to kill a botulism toxin by boiling food justs before consumption.
You #'s 88, 90 and 92 contain imprecise and correct information that, if taken for what they say, could lead someone to think botulism can be prevented by some very imprecise boiling methods before eating. Decades of research and experience ruled such methods out for all commercial canning and all approved recommendations for home canning.
Interesting stuff.
That is interesting.
My mother used to “can” berries, apples, peaches by basically bringing it to a boil, then putting it in jars, and sealing it over with canning wax.
Not for long term storage. With ten kids around, there is no such thing as long term storage!!
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