54-Year-Old Woman Dies, 23 Others Sickened with Botulism at Lancaster, Ohio Church Potluck

[951-Riverside]

A 54-year-old woman has died of botulism after attending a church potluck where 23 others are suspected to have become ill with the toxin, officials said today.

Up to 60 people attended a potluck at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church in Lancaster, Ohio, on Sunday, and state and local health officials say they suspect about 24 people came down with botulism, a rare but potentially fatal paralytic illness.

"It might have been part of a salad or something, and it was probably part of the canned component of it that was the cause," said Dr. Andrew Murry, an infectious diseases specialist at Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster. "Every person that we've seen was at this potluck. In other words, it's not something that was spread throughout this community."

Botulism is caused by a nerve toxin released by certain bacteria, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"All forms of botulism can be fatal and are considered medical emergencies," according to the CDC. "Foodborne botulism is a public health emergency because many people can be poisoned by eating a contaminated food."

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/54-year-woman-dies-church-botulism-outbreak-sickened/story?id=30506507

[lame54]

1. What does Pat Robertson have to say about this?

[Politicalboi]

2. It's because of gay marriage

Had they used that church for a gay marriage, then those people wouldn't of had their pot luck. They would have been outside protesting

[cordelia]

40. Charming. As usual.

[Arugula Latte]

54. It was more of a comment on Pat Robertson than the woman who died.

But I will delete it.

[Turbineguy]

3. They should have left out

the bit about "Free Will".

[FSogol]

8. Yeah, very sad. n/t

[hunter]

5. Anyone who cans food at home needs to go here:

http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_home.html

I like to can relatively safe things at home sometimes, but I'm not a fearless about canning like my great grandmothers were. They'd can anything they had a large surplus of. Three of my great grandmothers also lived in remote places that could get snowed in for weeks at a time, and they didn't get electricity until their kids were grown. If they didn't have food stashed away then everyone starved.

Yes, I know I could trust myself to can most anything, I used to do critical medical work where mistakes were unthinkable, and I did it well, but maybe that's why I stay away from the scary stuff, because it seems too much like work.

This is a sad story wherever the contaminated food came from.

[Retrograde]

10. It's straightforward BUT

you have to follow the guidelines (I use the Ball Blue Book) and make sure all your equipment is clean. I can beef and poultry stocks roughly every three months: even though I know the pressure and time requirements by heart I still look them up just in case. And any jars that don't seal are used immediately.

A lot of vegetables require pressure canning: this is where I think the problems come in - pressure canners are big scary things (I know mine is) that require constant attention so some home preservers think they can cut corners and just go with a hot water bath.

[hunter]

11. My job at the blood & tissue bank was work.

I knew if I messed up I could kill someone.

Canning many foods, especially those not saturated with acid, sugar, salt, or alcohol is equally dangerous. It has to be done right.

[BlueJazz]

17. "not saturated with acid, sugar, salt, or alcohol is equally dangerous"

AMEN!

[Retrograde]

24. PV=nRT

It's not just a good idea, it a Law! And one of the bases of the science behind safe home canning. And why you can't destroy botulism spores in normal kitchen conditions.

[AngryAmish]

35. I am getting into sausage making

But I am too afraid to make a salami and hang it for weeks. I make food for fun. I don't want to hurt anyone. I'll leave that to the pros.

[etherealtruth]

7. That is horrible

[Initech]

9. I wonder what the mystery food was?

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

12. Freedom and Liberty!

[linuxman]

18. I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

Should people not have potlucks, or just not church people?

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

23. folks in that part of the country don't want...

government in their lives inspecting their food and whatnot. This will be more commonplace in a right-wing paradise. My point is people don't know what they're voting for when they vote Republican, i.e. for "Freedom and Liberty" from big government.

[NanceGreggs]

26. Really?

"Folks in that part of the country don't want government in their lives inspecting their food and whatnot."

Thanks for the enlightening post. I had NO idea that folks in "certain parts of the country" were all anti-food inspection Republicans.

Live and learn, huh?

[nomorenomore08]

27. They don't have to opposite it directly. Just support a shift toward a political climate which makes

disasters and tragedies like this one more likely. It's a more roundabout way of arriving at much the same thing.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

44. You want government inspections for home food preparation and pot luck gatherings?

[AlbertCat]

45. You want government inspections for home food preparation and pot luck gatherings?

"Canned food components"?..... anyone?

And there is a big movement for things like, y'know "raw milk". It's natural! None of those meddlesome regulations that strangle personal freedumb.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

46. Lots of people engage in cottage production. So, what would you propose?

[AlbertCat]

47. I repeat...

re...this incident:

Canned component

Possibly spaghetti sauce

[Nuclear Unicorn]

48. I repeat: What do you propose be done?

[AlbertCat]

50. What do you propose be done?

How about inspecting canned goods from the store.

Like we do.



But what I'm commenting on, since you don't seem to get it, is deregulation in general. A GOP thing, y'know.

[cherokeeprogressive]

51. When were potlucks regulated, and when did their deregulation happen?

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

55. See comment 28.

The product in question already appears to be an inspected product, not a 'home canner'. And looks to have already been under recall.

So 'deregulation' doesn't appear to have been an issue in this case.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

57. "But what I'm commenting on, since you don't seem to get it, is deregulation in general."

I never stopped discussing the OP. I even made reference to the fact this was home-produced goods and a private gathering. It's not my fault you changed subjects.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

53. Looking at comment 28, the toxin is suspected to have been from a commercially

produced sauce, which presumably went through the same sorts of inspections as any other commercial product, and was already apparently under a recall notice.

[greatlaurel]

13. The budget cuts to the Ohio State University-Extension prevents public education for food safety.

The state of Ohio has had decades of GOP rule that has devastated the budgets for public education on all matter of things. The OSU-Extension Offices in each county in Ohio used to have enough staff to do proper public education on such things as food safety, especially for home food preservation and canning.

Canning is a lot of fun and saves a ton of money, but you have to have the correct equipment. Pressure canners need to be tested every so often to make sure the canners are holding the correct pressure. The Extension Offices used to travel around withing the counties to do the testing for free for people.

I am shocked at the number of people who do not know about the need to pressure can low acid foods. I have started freezing most of my tomato juice and sauces, as I have been unable to get my pressure canner checked.

Another issue is how long it took for the CDC to get the antitoxin to the hospitals. Have the GOP budget cuts at the federal level prevented a more efficient response to this tragic exposure?

Sadly, the news media is not asking any of these questions.

Dr. Murray is a very good doc, IMO. He was my doctor when I had histoplasmosis which no one else could figure out what I had. His diagnosis and treatment regimen made for a much speedier recovery. Those people are in good hands. Good luck to all the afflicted for a speedy recovery.

My condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. Very sad situation.

[Hekate]

14. Horrible. Condolences to them...

...and shame on the people wagging their fingers and almost gloating.

[CBGLuthier]

22. plus a billion

For every useful comment or one expressing their horror at this sad event there is one that is smarmy bullshit. the kind of smarmy bullshit that belongs at conservative websites not progressive.

[cordelia]

39. Plus a billion more.

Disheartening to see some of the comments made by so-called enlightened people on this site.

Condolences to all who knew and loved the deceased.

[cwydro]

41. Ditto.

I can't believe the nasty comments on this thread.

[Oilwellian]

15. The snark in this thread is disgusting

My condolences to the congregation.

[Initech]

21. I'm wondering what made everybody sick.

I'm betting that if it's a certain type of food that it could be a small part of a much bigger problem. The thing is without the official word from the CDC there's no telling what it could be, what was contaminated, what it was contaminated with, whether it was bought commercially or if it was home grown - there's much more to the story that is being left out.

[Tanuki]

28. They think it was a commercially prepared pasta sauce

but are awaiting final testing. That is somewhat surprising to me since it was a tomato sauce, and I always thought that the acid in the tomatoes kept botulism at bay. I grew up in West Virginia eating home-canned vegetables and we were always taught that one had to be particularly careful canning beans or meats because the proteins made them more of a host to c. botulinin. The pasta sauce in this incident was already subject to a recall:
http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2014/08/two_ohio_cases_of_botulism_inv.html
This is a really sad story and I feel disappointed that anyone on DU would chortle about it just because it involved churchgoers who had come together to share a meal.
Btw, I hope everyone knows that infants under the age of one can get botulism from eating honey!

[greatlaurel]

37. Thanks for the link. Tomatoes are tricky now, there are many lower acid varieties.

The lower acid varieties have to have an acid added to make the tomatoes safe to can in a boiling water bath. There is lots of good information about this on the land grant university websites, as well as the FDA site linked to in a previous post. Also, if there are enough other vegetables/herbs/chesses added to the recipe that can drop the acid content too low, as well. The company that made the commercial sauce is in big trouble.

Again, this is an example of the failure of the GOP slashing government functions. If the FDA had enough inspectors to adequately monitor manufacturing facilities and do proper product recalls, this tragedy could have been avoided. Slashing government regulations and the funding to hire inspectors and regulators has consequences.

I am so very sad for the people involved in this situation. There is very little the person preparing the food could have done to prevent this, as botulism is a silent killer, it has no odor or taste. The only way to get rid of the toxin is to boil foods for 20 minutes before serving and even then that might not been enough to get rid of the toxin especially in a thick tomato food.

I agree no one should be snarky over this tragedy. We do need to point out the GOP anti-regulation and anti-education policies do have very tragic consequences.

Good post.

[hunter]

58. Wow. The recall was July 30, 2014, a California manufacturer.

VR Green Farms of San Clemente, California, is voluntarily recalling the following varieties of jarred food products: Pine Nut Basil Pesto, Pickled Farm Mix, Old World Tomato Sauce, Sundried Tomatoes in Olive Oil, Tuscan Grilling Sauce, and Pasta Sauce. These food products were sold under the VR Farms label and packaged in Mason-style glass jars with screw-on metal lids. The product labels do not include any coding or “use by” dates. Photographs can be found on Recalled Product Photos Page. The products were sold at the VR Green Farms stand in San Clemente, California and via the Internet to consumers throughout the United States.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm407542.htm

There's more story here.

I hardly ever look at food recall notices

[nomorenomore08]

29. Yeah, it's gross. Certainly something I would refrain from myself.

And I second your condolences to the parish and survivors.

[GusBob]

43. Agreed

[linuxman]

19. These type of threads

usually bring out the best DU has to offer.

[underahedgerow]

20. It's my own self imposed phobia, but I really get nervous eating anyone else's home-made food...

Primarily for safety reasons. I honestly get all paranoid about sanitary conditions in other people's homes and kitchens. I stay away from salads, anything with mayo and egg in particular.

I have worked in commercial restaurant kitchens baking, doing food prep and running my own lunch business on and off for many years, I think the necessary conditions there for providing food for the public have totally put me off eating home made things!

When I see the slack conditions in so many restaurants and in people's homes I get all paranoid. If the facility's toilet is dirty, you can bet the kitchen is dirty too. If their front door & handle is dirty and grimy, the glass is filthy, menus are sticky, you can absolutely be sure that the kitchen is a sewer. It's all about attention to detail. If they can't be bothered to keep the front of house clean, then the back of house will be way more nasty.

The main edict I live by is 'when in doubt, throw it out!'

Left over hot meals should never be kept more than 4 days, max. Ever.
Keep raw meat in the bottom of the fridge so it can't drip into other food.
You can freeze pretty much anything, you just have to wrap it correctly, and NOT in tin foil which tends allow freezer burn. Good quality plastic wrap or ziplock bags are best.
Freezer burn isn't dangerous but it sure tastes nasty.
You CAN refreeze meat so long as it hasn't been left at room temp for more than a few hours. It won't be dangerous, but will lose moisture and quality.

Early morning rant over and out.....

[Skittles]

30. I saw a gal at work washing her lettuce in the bathroom sink

I made a mental note to never again eat any of her potluck offerings

[Jamastiene]

32. I won't eat at events like the one mentioned in the article.

Food sitting out long enough for everyone to get through their how-do-you-dos and whatnot has time to spoil. It might have been safe food when it left the houses of whoever cooked it, but food sitting out at those types of events usually have flies buzzing all around. It is usually during warm weather when they have those events, when it is too warm outside to keep the food at a safe temperature.

When it comes to things with eggs and/or mayo, I don't even trust my own after 1 day. When I first make it, I will eat it cold, but if it is more than 12 hours or so later, I will microwave potato salad and eat it hot even though I know I made it, was clean with it, and it was handled correctly at every step. I just don't trust it.

Ground beef is another tricky one. Even after only overnight in the fridge, it gets a funny smell to it. Nowadays, I bring my ground beef home and divide it up and freeze it in ziplock bags right away to avoid that smell it can get. I go to the grocery store so late in the evening most times, that you'd think the ground beef wouldn't start doing that just overnight, but it did. I can smell it when no one else can too. I know people think I'm crazy, but ever since that happened that one time, I learned. Now, I freeze it right away. Better safe than sorry.

[AngryAmish]

36. I got the grinder attachment for my kitchaid home mixer.

If you gring your own burgers you will never buy store bought hamburger agaIn. The taste is that much better.

Plus lumo charcoal, for a bit of smoke.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

56. When I was much younger, I worked as a busboy, and then a dishwasher.

Given what I saw happening in the food prep area, I was turned off eating at public restaurants for a long time. The 'chicken gut fights' were probably the most hair raising.

[Vinca]

59. I'm relieved to know I'm not the only person with this phobia (aka self preservation).

I go to lots of events where there are scrumptious looking baked goods and I always pass them by. I rarely eat in restaurants either (blame Gordon Ramsay exposing disgusting kitchens for that). As for this case in Ohio, I bet it had something to do with home canned goods. Botulism is the thing that keeps me from doing anything other than pickles or relish (lots of acid) despite having a big garden.

[underahedgerow]

60. I never thought of it as self preservation, but you're right! And yeah, Gordon has done wonders

for uncovering restaurant conditions, thank goodness!

Also happy to know I'm not the only one who's nervous about other people's food!

[Warren DeMontague]

25. That's awful.

Condolences to everyone affected.

[Skittles]

31. very tragic

and it would be extra horrible to find out you're the one who prepared the contaminated offering

[jamzrockz]

33. My condolenses to them

But there is really no way to find the contaminated food. Its not like there are other batches out there to test. But there is always a risk to eating food, even the inspected food in the stores get contaminated every once in a while.

[Skittles]

61. don't they just determine which food they ALL ate?

[GusBob]

42. I cook for large groups of people

This is my number one nightmare.

I feed the local high school football team it's pre game meal. They used to do potluck but that actually increases the risk when you have different people involved and once one parent brought bad chicken. They used to get food donated from local restaurants but again they sickened some kids with chicken wings
So now one person cooks the same dishes for the whole team and I eat from every dish ahead of time to make sure they are safe. I am fanatical about food hygiene

Every third meal is pasta with tomato sauce I will be extra careful

[cherokeeprogressive]

52. I drive for a living and I'm pretty sure if I hurt someone I'd have trouble driving ever again. n/t

[RiffRandell]

34. Very sad.

I usually steer clear of food at big events and always thought botulism was mayo based.

Thoughts and vibes go out to the victims and families.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

38. Very sad. Wow.

NT