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Authors: Warren R. Anderson
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aureus, campylobacter, listeria monocytogenes, clostridium perfringens, clostridium botulinum, and Escherichia coli O157. A few of these bacteria can also form toxins if the food is stored between 40° F (4° C) and 130° F (54° C) for an extended time, and these toxins cannot be destroyed by normal cooking. Consequently, proper storage not only helps to prevent spoilage, it helps to prevent food poising from pathogens and the toxins that some of them produce.
Clostridium botulinum and E. coli O157 require additional explanation.
BOTULISM
Botulism is a word that was coined by Dr. Emile van Ermengem in 1896 when she was investigating the cause of food poisoning related to the eating of German sausages. Botulus means sausage in Latin.
Botulism is an often-fatal form of food poisoning caused by clostridium botulinum. Eating improperly canned foods is the common cause. Another cause is eating preserved foods that have been improperly processed and packed in an airtight plastic package or in an airtight casing. Commercially prepared foods rarely cause botulism because of the precautions taken by commercial processors. Foods improperly processed at home, particularly home-canned foods, are the main culprits.
No food-processing procedures in this book will lead to the formation of botulin, the toxin that causes botulism. However, the processing of smoked sausage could result in botulism if the specified nitrite curing powder is not used.
Clostridium botulinum spores are everywhere. They are in the soil, on fruit and vegetables, and on meat and fish. Consequently, they are also found in the human intestines. The spores themselves are harmless; the poison, called botulin , is created only when the spores reproduce. In order for the spores to multiply, several conditions must exist at the same time : an airtight environment, a certain temperature range, a favorable chemical environment (non-acidic, for example), and a period of storage favorable for reproduction. The processed food will be free of the toxin if any one of these required conditions is eliminated.
None of the processes mentioned in this book specify packing the food in a perfectly airtight container, such as a can or a sealed canning jar. Tightly sealed plastic bags or vacuum packs are suggested for use while cooking, refrigerating, or freezing the product; nevertheless, they are never suggested for storing or processing foods under conditions that might cause spores to reproduce. However, sausage casing that is packed tightly and sealed tightly can approximate an airtight container, so caution is prudent for sausages that will be smoked. The smoking temperature and lengthy smoking time could encourage spore reproduction.
Fortunately, there is a very easy way to make the smoked sausage perfectly safe: Change the chemical composition of the sausage in a way that will positively prevent toxin formation.
There are several ways to do this, but most of these approaches would make the sausage taste awful. There is one way, however, to change the chemical composition of the sausage and make it taste even better: Add a very small amount of sodium nitr ite (NaNO 2 ). Toxin formation is positively prevented if a specified amount of this chemical is mixed with the raw sausage. Not one person has ever been known to contract botulism after eating sausage properly treated with sodium nitrite. You can feel confident that sausage properly treated with this chemical will be free of the toxin.
One of the commercially produced curing powders known as Prague Powder #1, Instacure #1, or Modern Cure is recommended for treating the sausage. Used as directed, any one of these products will impart exactly the right amount of sodium nitrite into the sausage. The sausage will be wholesome and free of botulin. (Commercial meat processors are required to use sodium nitrite in cooked sausage and luncheon meats, as mandated by the Federal Drug Administration.)
If you decide that you will not
Clostridium botulinum and E. coli O157 require additional explanation.
BOTULISM
Botulism is a word that was coined by Dr. Emile van Ermengem in 1896 when she was investigating the cause of food poisoning related to the eating of German sausages. Botulus means sausage in Latin.
Botulism is an often-fatal form of food poisoning caused by clostridium botulinum. Eating improperly canned foods is the common cause. Another cause is eating preserved foods that have been improperly processed and packed in an airtight plastic package or in an airtight casing. Commercially prepared foods rarely cause botulism because of the precautions taken by commercial processors. Foods improperly processed at home, particularly home-canned foods, are the main culprits.
No food-processing procedures in this book will lead to the formation of botulin, the toxin that causes botulism. However, the processing of smoked sausage could result in botulism if the specified nitrite curing powder is not used.
Clostridium botulinum spores are everywhere. They are in the soil, on fruit and vegetables, and on meat and fish. Consequently, they are also found in the human intestines. The spores themselves are harmless; the poison, called botulin , is created only when the spores reproduce. In order for the spores to multiply, several conditions must exist at the same time : an airtight environment, a certain temperature range, a favorable chemical environment (non-acidic, for example), and a period of storage favorable for reproduction. The processed food will be free of the toxin if any one of these required conditions is eliminated.
None of the processes mentioned in this book specify packing the food in a perfectly airtight container, such as a can or a sealed canning jar. Tightly sealed plastic bags or vacuum packs are suggested for use while cooking, refrigerating, or freezing the product; nevertheless, they are never suggested for storing or processing foods under conditions that might cause spores to reproduce. However, sausage casing that is packed tightly and sealed tightly can approximate an airtight container, so caution is prudent for sausages that will be smoked. The smoking temperature and lengthy smoking time could encourage spore reproduction.
Fortunately, there is a very easy way to make the smoked sausage perfectly safe: Change the chemical composition of the sausage in a way that will positively prevent toxin formation.
There are several ways to do this, but most of these approaches would make the sausage taste awful. There is one way, however, to change the chemical composition of the sausage and make it taste even better: Add a very small amount of sodium nitr ite (NaNO 2 ). Toxin formation is positively prevented if a specified amount of this chemical is mixed with the raw sausage. Not one person has ever been known to contract botulism after eating sausage properly treated with sodium nitrite. You can feel confident that sausage properly treated with this chemical will be free of the toxin.
One of the commercially produced curing powders known as Prague Powder #1, Instacure #1, or Modern Cure is recommended for treating the sausage. Used as directed, any one of these products will impart exactly the right amount of sodium nitrite into the sausage. The sausage will be wholesome and free of botulin. (Commercial meat processors are required to use sodium nitrite in cooked sausage and luncheon meats, as mandated by the Federal Drug Administration.)
If you decide that you will not
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