Identifying and Handling Spoiled Canned Food

Title:
Identifying and Handling Spoiled Canned Food

Yield:
1 Guide

Categories:
Canning,
Information




Ingredients:









 Do not taste food from a jar with an unsealed lid or food that shows signs


 of spoilage.


 


 You can more easily detect some types of spoilage in jars stored without


 screw bands. Growth of spoilage bacteria and yeast produces gas which


 pressurizes the food, swells lids, and breaks jar seals. As each stored jar


 is selected for use, examine its lid for tightness and vacuum. Lids with


 concave centers have good seals.


 


 Next, while holding the jar upright at eye level, rotate the jar and


 examine its outside surface for streaks of dried food originating at the


 top of the jar. Look at the contents for rising air bubbles and unnatural


 color.


 


 While opening the jar, smell for unnatural odors and look for spurting


 liquid and cottonlike mold growth (white, blue, black, or green) on the top


 food surface and underside of lid.


 


 Spoiled low-acid foods, including tomatoes, may exhibit different kinds of


 spoilage evidence or very little evidence. Therefore, all suspect


 containers of spoiled low-acid foods, including tomatoes, should be treated


 as having produced botulinum toxin and handled carefully in one of two


 ways:


 


 * If the swollen metal cans or suspect glass jars are still sealed, place


 them in a heavy garbage bag. Close and place the bag in a regular trash


 container or bury it in a nearby landfill.


 


 * If the suspect cans or glass jars are unsealed, open, or leaking, they


 should be detoxified before disposal.


 


 Detoxification process:


 


 Carefully place the suspect containers and lids on their sides in an


 8-quart volume or larger stock pot, pan, or boiling-water canner. Wash your


 hands thoroughly. Carefully add water to the pot. The water should


 completely cover the containers with a minimum of a 1-inch level above the


 containers. Avoid splashing the water. Place a lid on the pot and heat the


 water to boiling. Boil 30 minutes to ensure detoxifying the food and all


 container components. Cool and discard the containers, their lids, and food


 in the trash or bury in soil.


 


 Thoroughly scrub all counters, containers, and equipment including can


 opener, clothing, and hands that may have contacted the food or containers.


 Discard any sponges or wash cloths that may have been used in the cleanup.


 Place them in a plastic bag and discard in the trash.


 


 ======================================================= === * USDA


 Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 539 (rev. 1994) * Meal-Master format


 courtesy of Karen Mintzias


 


 From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini