*Warning* Botulism Risk in Jar canned Cakes and Breads

[LazyBear]

Here's the info on breads/cakes in jars: http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/showit.cfm?record=56

 

Subject - Canned breads and cakes

QUESTION - Is it safe to bake and store cakes and breads at home using canning jars?

ANSWER - Recipes for canned breads and cakes as gift items seem to appear each year around Christmas time. These products are typically made by pouring batter into glass canning jars and baking them in the oven. Once the cake or bread is done, the steaming jars are taken out of the oven and are sealed and cooled to create a vacuum. Most recipes claim that they can be stored without refrigeration for at least a year. Some say they will keep indefinitely.

 

The microorganism we are concerned about in these products is Clostridium botulinum. If spores of this type of bacteria are allowed to germinate and grow, deadly botulism toxin is produced. Very small amounts of the toxin can cause an often fatal disease called botulism. Clostridium botulinum spores are abundant in nature but fortunately will only grow and produce toxin in unrefrigerated high moisture foods that are low in acid and exposed to little or no oxygen. These conditions occur in canned foods such as asparagus, green beans, beets, and corn. Thus low-acid canned foods must be processed in pressurized retorts at temperatures of 240 degrees F or higher to make sure that the heat resistant spores are killed.

 

Outbreaks of botulism from more unusual sources have been reported such as garlic in oil mixtures, improperly handled baked potatoes wrapped in aluminum foil, and home-canned or fermented fish. Some research studies have shown that low acid canned bread or cake products may have characteristics that are favorable for growth of Clostridium spores.

 

Several years ago, a professor of Food Science at Penn State University developed a recipe for canned bread. It was carefully formulated so that acid and moisture levels would prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum spores during room temperature storage. The product can be safely made as long as the original Penn State recipe is followed exactly as written. However, there is a significant risk that the creative cook may make ingredient substitutions or omissions that could significantly change the pH of the product such that conditions might be more favorable for growth of Clostridium spores.

 

In addition to the risk of botulism, there is also a significant risk for consumers to become injury from broken glass when baking cakes and breads in glass canning jars. Canning jars are intended for use in hot water baths or pressure canners and are not designed to withstand the thermal stresses that occur with dry oven heat.

 

Therefore, Penn State strongly discourages consumers from canning cakes and breads in jars. Botulism is a serious and often fatal disease and no consumer should take unnecessary risks with this microorganism. If someone gives you a home canned cake or bread product, assume that it is unsafe to eat and immediately discard the contents.

 

 

References and additional information:

 

Growth of Clostridium sporogenes PA 3679 in home-style canned quick breads. Aramouni, F. M., K. K. Kone, J.A. Craig and D.Y. C. Fung. 1994. J. Food Protection 57: 882-886. (See abstract below)

 

Canning Breads and Cakes?

University Of Georgia Cooperative Extension

http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publicatio..._can_breads.pdf

 

Safety of Canning Quick Breads

Utah State University Extension

http://extension.usu.edu/publica/foodpubs/canbread.pdf

 

Botulism

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/dise.../botulism_g.htm

 

Home Canning: Identifying and Handling Spoiled Canned Food

(how to safely discard spoiled canned products)

USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning

United States Department of Agriculture, Extension Service

http://foodsafety.cas.psu.edu/usda/...dCannedFood.pdf

[Darlene]

Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss! This is TRUE!

 

Thanks for this post...it's very important.

[Leah]

Jars make a nice presentation, but they are not sterilized!

I like the title of this post, it might catch the eye of someone wanting to try this as a prep item.

[Violet]

Thanks for posting this ! I know this time of year gets people thinking about holiday gifts. This is one I could do without receiving.

We tell folks to discard them if they are given one, especially since there are no signs of spoilage associated with botulism.

 

[mommato3boys]

Hey LazyBear that is the same link I posted over in the jar cake thread. I have made these cakes but they are made like the night before and handed out with strick instructions to store in the refrigerator and eat within two weeks.

 

I would be too scared to "can" cakes for long term. I am still not brave enough to can meat. Call me chicken (cluck cluck)

[JCK88]

I've canned cakes for several years, but these have always been meant to be used up right away as gifts, not as preps. I first encountered canned cake at the Hershey Park gift shop. Seems to me that they probably put in a bunch of preservatives or something that home canners don't do. I did post recipes in the thread about holiday gifts, but did not realize there were so many warnings out there against cakes in jars! So I am sorry if this was a problem or offended anyone. I meant well. The recipes I posted are from a book called "Jazzy Jars." In that book the author states cakes are meant to be eaten within two months. (and she says to use sterilized jars) If storing longer than two months, cakes in jars are supposed to be refrigerated. I've given them as teacher gifts but with a "use by" date written on them and we have always made them a couple days before we gave them. I will have to rethink this kind of gift now.....Thanks for posting that info. (just saw it now, catching up on boards)

 

 

 

 

[Violet]

The commercial ones do have to contain a bunch of preservatives. I would have no idea what or how much to use to duplicate it.

Judy, that is how we all learn. We all make mistakes along the way.

I posted in the other thread about reasons not to seal the jars and to keep them in the fridge or frozen.