Am I at risk for botulism? [closed]
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I am a little.paranoid because just today my son had some fried rice he was going to bring to school in a thermos like container. The food wasn't really that hot and I explained to him by the time he ate it it would be at room temp for almost 6 hours and he could get sick of he ate it. So not thinking I left the container at my house on the counter to throw away. I got distracted and didn't end up throwing it away until late the evening. So in total the food was in an air tight thermos at room temp for about 16 hours. I am worried that the amount of time in which botulism could have grown? Of course I did not eat it but it it could have grown botulism and then in turn could be at risk of botulism spores forming that quickly? Because I did smell the food when I threw it away for some reason and now I am scared to have been exposed to spores. Also after rinsing out the container now I would have trace food on other dishes in the sink and normal washing would not kill the botulism? Just trying to see if me and my family are at any risk? Thank you!!
Best Answer
It doesn't sound like you have anything to worry about. It's very possible that botulism or some other organism grew in that time in those conditions, so you were right to throw the food away.
You can't get botulism or other foodborne illnesses from smelling food, you'd have to actually eat the food to get sick, which you wisely didn't do. Thoroughly cleaning the container will get rid of any contamination on it and make it safe to use again. I wouldn't worry about the sink personally, just give it a rinse afterwards.
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What are your chances of getting botulism?
Botulism is a rare, but serious disease. Most people will go through their entire lives without getting sick with botulism. Certain actions can increase your risk of getting sick with botulism. People who inject certain drugs, such as black tar heroin, put themselves at greater risk of getting wound botulism.Who is at high risk for botulism?
Who is at risk for botulism? Everyone is at risk for foodborne botulism, especially those who eat home-canned, low-acid foods. Drug users, especially those who use black-tar heroin, may be at risk of wound botulism. Infants younger than 12 months who are fed honey are at risk of infant botulism.How common is botulism in home canning?
Home-canned vegetables are the most common cause of botulism outbreaks in the United States. From 1996 to 2014, there were 210 outbreaks of foodborne botulism reported to CDC. Of the 145 outbreaks that were caused by home-prepared foods, 43 outbreaks, or 30%, were from home-canned vegetables.How do adults usually get botulism?
Botulism does not spread from person to person. A person can get foodborne botulism from eating food that contains botulism toxin if the food is not heated or processed properly. Foodborne botulism is most frequently caused by eating improperly processed home-canned, preserved or fermented foods.Infant Botulism
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Answer 2
I think there is no recorded case of anyone getting botulism that way. Inhalation botulism is possible in theory via the use of bioweapons https://www.centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publications/botulinum-toxin-botulism-fact-sheet . There are also an isolated case of two cocaine users getting it in France https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/43/5/e51/507425 but they may have lied about injecting drugs also (which is a known way).
I'd say even by eating this food the risk of botulism was near zero (other bacteria on the other hand...). Botulism usually thrives (and produces enough toxin) in conditions where other bacteria were suppressed.
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