Thanks for reporting this. Sometimes I get the impression that many people think that the worst that will happen is some gastric distress from improperly canned food, but botulism is really, really scary. I found an article on what I think is the case you speak of.

Here is a link that might be useful: botulism

This is the reason I always froze beans... never canned them. I got so I froze all the vegetables.... I guess we liked them better.

I must admit I prefer frosen to canned veggies too. Beans, of the yellow wax type are very good tasting and texture, even after a whole year in the freezer. I just had a big dish of last years broccli that I froze last summer.

I do hope those poeple pull through that botulism issue. My guess is that lady has been doing it hert way for years without any problems in the past. Just goes to show you how we are not as careful as we should be when it comes to home canning and using outdated methods or no methods at all.

Yes, that is the story. A nurse did the canning at home.
Now you all know it is still possible to get botulism by trying to do things not recommended.
I am sorry for the lady and her children, though. I do hope they recover without paralysis or other lifelong problems.

Linda lou, she and her children have been on my mind the last couple of days - from what I'm reading the children are recovering and are not as ill.

Seattle paper mentioned it briefly and only said 'improperly canned green beans' and gave her city/area, no other detail. I keep wondering first is she going to be OK, and second - what went wrong.

That's terrible! I hope she pulls through.

Maybe it was Listeria?? If improperly canned, there can be more than one toxin in the brew..

No, botulism confirmed, and that was the antitoxin that was given.

Here is a link that might be useful: Seattle PI report on botulism case

It is botulism. Not listeria. We still don't know how she processed the beans.
This shows that indeed, it is still possible to get botulism today. I would think that she did not see any signs of anything wrong or she would not have served them to her children.
Very tragic, indeed.

I wonder if they were actually made by her, or if they were bought or given to her by a friend. If so, not a nice friend!

NEVER PRESERVE GREEN BEANS IN ANY METHOD OTHER THAN FREEZING.

It amazes me that so many botulism cases have been traced back to green beans! Why? The taste is ultimately better when frozen than canned - even with "safe" pressure canner methods. Why do people want to preserve such a proven unsafe food in the "old way"? See me shaking my head. Why?

NEVER PRESERVE GREEN BEANS IN ANY METHOD OTHER THAN FREEZING.

Nancy

Actually do not forget dehydrating. I have dehydrated green beans successfully. They are not as widely usable as frozen, but it works and I believe it is safe. I do use them for camping and backpacking food. They shrink to almost nothing.

Seriously? Is that common line of thought among most of you?

I've canned organically grown green beans for years, hot pack, 20 min @10# pressure for wide mouth pints, and never given them an anxious moments thought. Is this something I should not be doing? Even reading about the woman with botulism, my concern was with her and how those beans had been processed, my concern wasn't my own green beans.

Not being defensive here at all, I'd really like to know...

I think the true problem with canned green beans is that far too many people think that if it seals that it is safe. In a pressure canner at the appropriate pressure and processing time it is safe. Unfortunately, many people don't study up on what they are doing before they do it. I've actually had some one tell me that you shouldn't pressure can anything because it all comes out as mush and they went on to tell me that all you needed to do to can green beans was place hot cooked beans in a jar put the cap on and it would seal and be done. We here mostly know that this would be the old fashion open kettle method which is totally not approved anymore. They had no idea about botulism. Part of the problem is that many people make pickled green beans which if done properly could be safely boiling water bath canned but another less informed person might assume that they could just can plain green beans the same way and kill themselves or some one else with their effort.

So, I would be interested to hear what sort of method of canning was used for these tainted green beans.

It may be if the worman canned them, she could have water bathed them or open kettle canned. Neither of these are safe for any low acid food. I have easly pickled beans, and use garlic and dill. They also get full strength 5% vinegar, and no water to dilute it.

I have been pressure canning green and wax beans for 17 yrs.

I pickle both in BWB.

I will continue to do so.

We still teach pressure canning green beans to be a perfectly safe method if done for the current, safe time and pressure. I have been canning green beans safely for 35 years. Never any problem at all.
Perhaps she added bacon, or water batch processed, who knows ? We have not been told how they were done.
If I find out I will let you know.
You do not have to just freeze green beans. It is only one of the safe options.

Morz8 - My book recommends 20 minutes @ 10 lbs for hot packed pints of string beans, so you should be okay. I don't know if this has been updated in recent years.

TomNJ

Will we ever know how the green beans were processed? Someone knows and I think it is important that we find out. If the women is too ill to talk, maybe a relative can find out. There must be other canned items in the house. The authorities should confiscate all the suspect jars and test them. The result should be reported in all newspapers and TV news stations. With the economy as it is today, I believe many more folks will take up gardening and home canning this coming season. I have friends who still go by outdated canning guidelines. It is scary. I give many of my canned items away and inform all that I follow the latest recommendations.

What troubles me is there will be many people that will miss the whole improperly canned part and take the account to mean that canning in general is unsafe. While others will ignore all guidelines and keep producing unsafe product only further perpetuating the false impression that canning is unsafe.
Sigh.

It troubled me too, because the media saw it necessary to throw in the part that this woman was a nurse. Would they have added her vocation if she was a shoe store clerk, or a florist? Probably not, and the implication is that she knew all about food safety and still nearly died......and if you expand that premise.......then home canning is unsafe. Phooey.

I'm an ex-nurse and been around them enough to know that vocation doesn't necessarily make them experts at home canning.I also know that this woman SHOULD have known that one is supposed to heat home canned low-acid foods to the boiling point for at least fifteen minutes, and that would have destroyed any toxins and they probably wouldn't have fallen ill.

It sounds like improper food prep, regardless of proper/improper canning. BTW, I prefer canned green beans to frozen. It takes less time to finish off the cooking, and I process up to a hundred quarts of them a season. No way is there freezer space for all those beans in addition to everything else in TWO freezers.

I feel very sorry for her, but that article did not in any way make me feel frightened to eat my own preserved foods, nor should it. I'm afraid it will turn off novices though, and in this economy home food preservation is a very viable alternative to the hideous prices at the markets, and one doesn't have to worry about what kinds of pesticides or chemicals are in foods they harvest from their own gardens.

"I have been canning green beans safely for 35 years. Never any problem at all."

Linda Lou, please forgive me for picking on you, because you are an invaluable contributor to this forum. Your canning expertise exceeds everyone else's so far as I can tell. But that statement has been used to justify all of the most dangerous canning methods. Don't you agree?

Jim

NEVER PRESERVE GREEN BEANS IN ANY METHOD OTHER THAN FREEZING.

The taste is ultimately better when frozen than canned - even with "safe" pressure canner methods. Why do people want to preserve such a proven unsafe food in the "old way"? See me shaking my head. Why?

_________________

Whoa there!!! Sorry, Nancy but that simply is not true. As already mentioned by others, pressure canning green beans is not only tested, approved, and perfectly safe when proper guidelines are followed and it is not an "old way". And the taste of PC canned green beans over frozen is preferred by many.

It is BWB canning of green beans is NOT approved nor safe and hasn't been for many years.

Let's keep our facts straight. ;)

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Current instructions on canning GB from NCHFP

Thanks, Dave! Count me as one of those that think that PC green beans are far better in taste and texture than frozen. We certainly want to encourage safe canning practices, but scaring people isn't productive, either.

Kay

Me too. I like frozen as they stay nice and bright color. I don't care for the frozen green beans as much, now I grow the yellow wax bush type. Far better texture and taste when blanched and frozen. I see canned beans looking mushy and gray, plus have very little taste left.

I have been canning for over 50 years and prefer canned green beans. Same with corn. I like Kentucky Wonder beans, however they are difficult to cook after being frozen. I fill my freezer with meat, all types of peppers, leafy greens, cauli, broccoli and much more. I wouldn't have room in my 18 cu. freezer for beans and corn.

I nuke them in the microwave without adding any water. They can be either slighly crisp, or as soft s you like, the longer they get nuked. Because there is no water added, they cook naturally in their own juices, and I usually drain that liquid out before serving. My expreinces with green beans, like KW, and even all the purple varieties, just dont give me the fresh flavor. Thats the main reason like the yellows. At the end of the season, I just pull up the whole bush plant and pluck away.

Jimster,
Perhaps you misread what I posted or misunderstood me.
I am confused. I did say in the sentence before that pressure canning green beans to be a perfectly safe method if done for the current, safe time and pressure.
That is the only method I have ever used, the pressure canner.
I would, of course, never,ever, suggest someone should can them in any other way, other than pickled in a brine that is acidic enough.

Greetings,

Linda Lou said:

Jimster,
Perhaps you misread what I posted or misunderstood me.
I am confused. I did say in the sentence before that pressure canning green beans to be a perfectly safe method if done for the current, safe time and pressure.
That is the only method I have ever used, the pressure canner.
I would, of course, never,ever, suggest someone should can them in any other way, other than pickled in a brine that is acidic enough.

While it is 'Jimsters' responsibility to respond, I believe I understand the misconception here. I don't think he was criticizing your technique, rather the phrasing you used (paraphrased) "I have always canned..." is the issue. It sounds a lot like "Grandma always did it this way". Having read the numerous posts you have written, I have no doubt that you can safely but the "I've been doing this for 35 years" strikes too close to the "Grandma always did this" mentality. For myself, I understand both your "statements" and Jimsters "position"... And that's about all the oil this barrel can pour on troubled waters. ;)

For the future, I have a Botulism 101 Q&A (Q&A as in "I don't know the answer so I'm kicking it out to the group") post that I'm mentally working up. Maybe I'll get it refined enough to actually post sometime this year... Maybe not.

Regards,
Tim :)

Thanks, Tim. I had intended to respond but temporarily forgot about this thread. You understood my point.

I was calling attention to that one sentence in Linda Lou's post which we have heard so oftn from people trying to justify the use of unsafe canning methods. Their reasoning is "it hasn't killed anyone yet". I was surprised to see Linda Lou using that particular argument in support of a safe method because, as she and others here always stress, it proves nothing.

It's like the pit bull owner whose dog has ripped off someone's face and says, "But he never harmed anyone before". How many times have we heard that one?

Jim

I am also a fan of canned over frozen beans and will continue to can them according to BBB. I hope that woman makes it but like someone else mentioned, I'm not sure why they thought it important to stress that she was a nurse. I'm a nurse but that sure doesn't make me an expert in home canning, LOL! I should hope that in this day and age the general population has at least a knowledge that many health threats come from "bugs" that you can't see with the naked eye. I would guess that is their point, that she should have known better? I don't know. I follow the directions in BBB to the letter and when in doubt I trust a few here to say yay or nay on a recipe or alteration in a recipe. Keep us updated if you hear anything, please. Lori

I bet that she had been making them the same way her grandmother did 50+ years ago. Kind of like that pickled egg issue.. Don't get me started again! Would you believe ice cream can harbour salmonella? Yes, it can, as a few years back hundreds of people in the midwest had bought ice cream from supermarkets and it was tainted with salmonellla. It seems the tankers that transported the cream had previoulsy hauled eggs. They failed to thoroughly wash out the tank, and it created the perfect environment for the salmonella to grow in. Worst yet, botulisim was in commercially canned mushrooms some years back, recall time!