Botulism foods implicated

Commercial products usually do not pose health threats to their consumers. However, botulism cases acquired after consumption of commercially prepared canned foods have been reported. In the U.S., 62 outbreaks occurred in the years 1899 to 1973 (Lynt et al., 1975). Only 7% of outbreaks reported between 1950 and 1996 were linked to commercially processed foods (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998). The implicated foodstuffs included chopped garlic in soy oil stored in glass bottles at room temperature (Louis et al., 1988), sliced roasted eggplant in oil, yogurt with hazelnuts, stuffed lotus rhizome, bottled caviar, and canned peanuts (Chou et al., 1988 D Argenio et al., 1995). 

A wide variety of foods has been implicated in the various outbreaks of botulism. Meat and meat products have mainly been responsible for the outbreaks in the EEC countries, whilst in the USA the main vector was vegetable products (Table 3). By contrast, outbreaks in Scandinavia, Russia and Japan have been associated largely with fish and fish products. 

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