OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – March 10, 2011) - Health Canada would like to remind Canadians of the importance of food safety while home canning and home bottling seafood such as fish and shellfish.

Home canning and bottling of fish and other seafood is a popular activity for many Canadians. However, improper preparation, canning or storage of these foods can cause serious illness, such as botulism.

If you are home canning or bottling your own seafoods (including clams, lobster and whelks), the following steps will help to reduce the risks of botulism:

• Use a pressure canner and strictly follow the manufacturer’s instructions for canning or bottling low-acid foods, such as fish and shellfish.

• Clean and sanitize your hands, all work surfaces, utensils, and equipment and keep them clean during all stages of the canning process.

• Follow the recipe exactly. Don’t substitute ingredients, amounts or change the jar size that the recipe calls for because this can cause the time or pressure needed during pressure canning to change, leading to bacteria remaining in the food. Use the canned or bottled food within one year.

• Once the container has been opened, refrigerate leftovers immediately. 

Never eat canned foods if you suspect it has been tampered with, if the seal has been broken, the lid is popped, or if the container is swollen or leaking. if in doubt, throw it out!

Botulism is a serious illness that can result from eating improperly prepared canned or bottled foods. Botulism is caused by bacteria that naturally produce toxins as part of their normal life cycle. The toxin that causes botulism is colourless, odourless, tasteless and invisible to the naked eye and isn’t necessarily destroyed by cooking, so preventing the toxin from forming is essential.

Symptoms of botulism range from nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, headache, double vision, dryness in the throat and nose to respiratory failure, paralysis and, in some cases, death. The onset of symptoms is generally from 12 to 36 hours after ingesting the toxin. The duration of illness may be two hours to 14 days, although some symptoms may last longer.

It’s estimated that there are approximately 11 million cases of food-related illnesses in Canada every year. Many of these illnesses could be prevented by following proper food handling and preparation techniques.

For more information on food safety tips for home canning and bottling of fish and other seafood, please visit:

Government of Canada’s Home Canning and Bottling of Fish and other Shellfish Safety Factsheet (hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/kitchen-cuisine/fish-canning-conserve-poisson-eng.php)

Government of Canada’s Home Canning and Botulism Factsheet ( hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/kitchen-cuisine/food-canning-conserve-aliment-eng.php )

Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education’s Be Food Safe Canada Campaign ( befoodsafe.ca )

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these are the symptoms of a 13 y/o female.

-bluid has built up in the lungs
-difficulty breathing
-red-brown bump on skin of arm with swelling at edges
-bump blishtered and hardened
-center of bump broke open ane oozed a clear luid yet has now formed a blac scab.

These are the choices:
Tuberculosis, Meningitis, Pneumonia (acute respiratory infections), Botulism (Clostridium botulinum), Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis), Influenza, Lyme Disease, Ebola, HIV/AIDS, Plague (yersinia pestis), Smallpox, Cholera, Hepatitis B, Polio, or SARS.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!

It sounds like smallpox, I read a book on it once and just to make sure the book had its facts right i read up on the disease, and this sounds alot like smallpox

What about morgellons disease. They are doing some BIG research projects this year on the disease. It starts as almost little "pimples" then they pop, spread and scab over. do you have any "fiber" like stuff on the sores?? They think this related to Lyme Disease. I had this along time ago before I knew I had Lyme Disease. I never knew it hyad a name either, But morgellons disease was very painful I would break out all over my hands. After I got married my mother in law asked me about it and I tole her I didn't know but had tried everything to get rid of it, she suggested pouring staright apple cider vinegar on it. It hurt really bad as you can imagine putting it on open wounds BUT it cleared up after about a week and I have never gotten it back. So it worked! I STILL HAVE THE lYME THOUGH!!

When you visit a hospital for a surgery or other process, you should expect to heal, not become even sicker than you were before. however, there are some bacteria that can live in hospitals, infesting your surgical incisions and other wounds and causing infections that may prove to be fatal. one such infection is tetanus.

The clostridium genus of bacteria has several members that can produce powerful neurotoxins. In fact, the bacteria that causes botulism is in this same clostridium genus as the bacterium that causes tetanus, Clostridium tetani. this bacteria produces a toxin called tetanospasmin, which interferes with the motor nerves’ ability to control muscle movements. thus, if you are infected with tetanus, you can suffer from uncontrollable muscle spasms that pull your muscles into tightly flexed positions.

This is one reason why tetanus infections are also called lockjaw. because the delicate facial muscles are often the first ones affected by the tetanospasmin toxin, you may be unable to open your mouth fully. this is also called trismus. besides having your jaw locked shut or barely open, you may also suffer from risus sardonicus, which is when your mouth is forced into an abnormal smile.

Besides frozen facial muscles, the other symptoms of tetanus include weakness, irritability, muscle cramps, soreness, and difficulty swallowing. Sometimes, the muscle contractions can be so strong that they cause broken bones. other times, the muscles of the respiratory system may be affected, resulting in the loss of breathing capability.

Normally, you would think that hospitals would be highly disinfected areas that are kept clean of germs. however, the spores produced by Clostridium tetani are very tough and highly resistant to fluctuations in temperature. thus, open wounds caused by surgical incisions as well as childbirth, abscesses, sites of needle injections, burns, and crush injuries are all susceptible to tetanus. if you come to the hospital to treat one of these wounds, or if you undergo surgery or childbirth in the hospital, you may be at risk for contracting tetanus in the medical facility.

Thankfully, once the hospital staff realizes that you have tetanus, you can receive antibiotics and antitoxins that can help you recover. In some cases, you may need a breathing machine to help you if your respiratory muscles are contracting uncontrollably. Additionally, you can receive vaccinations to help you prevent future tetanus attacks.

Surprisingly, hospitals are not always kept clean enough to prevent hospital-acquired infections such as tetanus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA. if you or someone you know has suffered from a hospital infection due to hospital negligence, you should consult a medical malpractice attorney about your options. For more information, check out the medical malpractice lawyers from Habush Habush & Rottier, S.C., today.