FS-BOTULISM-008 food-safety life_threatening ai_generated true

AI tells a user that home-canned tomatoes (acidic) are safe to process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, ignoring the risk of Clostridium botulinum in low-acid ingredients like onions or garlic added to the recipe

ID: food-safety/improper-canning-of-acidic-foods

Also available as: JSON · Markdown · 中文
87%Fix Rate
91%Confidence
1Evidence
2024-08-12First Seen

Version Compatibility

VersionStatusIntroducedDeprecatedNotes
USDA-2024-CanningGuide active — — —
NCHFP-2023-Tomato active — — —
FDA-2024-BotulismHomeCanning active — — —

Root Cause

Adding low-acid ingredients (onions, garlic, peppers, herbs) to tomatoes raises the pH above 4.6, allowing Clostridium botulinum spores to survive boiling water bath processing; pressure canning is required for mixed pH foods.

generic

中文

向西红柿中添加低酸成分（洋葱、大蒜、辣椒、香草）会将pH值提升至4.6以上，使肉毒杆菌孢子在沸水浴处理中存活；混合pH食品需要压力罐装。

Official Documentation

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-tomatoes-and-tomato-products/

Workarounds

  1. 95% success Use a pressure canner at 10-15 PSI (depending on altitude) for the full time specified for the recipe (e.g., 40 minutes for pints of tomato sauce with vegetables). 
    Use a pressure canner at 10-15 PSI (depending on altitude) for the full time specified for the recipe (e.g., 40 minutes for pints of tomato sauce with vegetables).
  2. 98% success Follow tested recipes from USDA or National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) for mixed pH foods. 
    Follow tested recipes from USDA or National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) for mixed pH foods.

中文步骤

  1. Use a pressure canner at 10-15 PSI (depending on altitude) for the full time specified for the recipe (e.g., 40 minutes for pints of tomato sauce with vegetables).
  2. Follow tested recipes from USDA or National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) for mixed pH foods.

Dead Ends

Common approaches that don't work:

  1. 70% fail

    Adding lemon juice (1 tbsp per quart) does not sufficiently lower pH if large amounts of low-acid ingredients are present.

  2. 90% fail

    Boiling water bath for 10 minutes is only safe for plain tomatoes with no added low-acid ingredients; mixed recipes require pressure canning.

  3. 80% fail

    Testing pH with litmus paper after adding ingredients is unreliable; pH can vary with ripeness and variety.