While we’ve always been told to keep an eye on what we eat for health reasons, there’s now another warning: a deadly substance has been found in some canned food products.
Back in 2017, a rare outbreak of botulinum toxin caused the death of one man and sent nine others to the hospital. The source? Contaminated nacho cheese.
The Infographic Show once did a deep dive into the most dangerous substances on Earth. It touched on everything from the pufferfish delicacy (which you might remember from that classic episode of The Simpsons), to cyanide — rumored to have played a role in Adolf Hitler’s death and even ricin, which once made its way into mail sent to Barack Obama.
This same toxin is used in botox for cosmetic treatments, but just a tiny 80-nanogram dose can be fatal. It’s a mind-blowing 40 million times more powerful than cyanide. And since it has no smell and is almost undetectable, it becomes especially dangerous when hiding in canned goods.
Symptoms of botulinum poisoning include things like facial paralysis and noticeable changes in the way a person speaks. If you notice anything like that, it’s critical to head straight to the hospital.
The tragic nacho cheese case began when several people started feeling ill after eating the sauce purchased from a gas station. The outbreak of clostridium botulinum was eventually traced back to four specific batches of that cheese.
While the toxin claimed the life of a man from northern California, a woman who had been treated and released from the hospital also passed away later. Although botulinum toxin is most commonly associated with home-canned foods, it has also been found in some store-bought products like carrot juice and hot sauces made with chili peppers.
They also suggest using canned items within one year of preservation and boiling low-acid foods, such as asparagus, green beans, beets, potatoes, tomatoes, meats, and seafood for 10 minutes before eating. Be sure to toss out any cans that look swollen, have cracks, or release liquid when opened.
Before you start panicking, though, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) notes that only around 20 food-related cases of botulinum poisoning occur each year, so it’s still very rare.
We all know people who are sticklers for expiration dates and others who rely on the sniff test before eating something. But when it comes to botulinum toxin, there’s no room for guessing. It’s definitely not something anyone should take lightly.
