Stacie,

We've often discussed levels of risk on this forum, and everyone has a different take on them.

But one thing that it might help you feel better to know is that the incidence of serious foodborne illness (e.g. botulism) from home-canned vegetable products is very, very small. I'm NOT an expert in canning or food safety, but I did look up the statistics on this when I started canning, and for all the dire warnings I was surprised to find how very unusual it is. (Most home preserving illnesses come from meat and fish improperly kept.) The USDA recommendations are designed to make it so that, if they are followed, one is GUARANTEED not to get these illnesses. Which I think is how it should be.

That doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend to your friend --- to anyone --- to follow tested recipes and recommendations from reliable sources for safety procedures. But the odds are very much in her favour (or in the favour of the people who buy her canned goods!).

That said, talking to her sounds like a good idea. Maybe you could start by telling her about this forum and how great it is to learn a lot of things from other canners, and work around to how one of the things you've learned is the importance of following safety procedures?

One thing I always point out when discussing this with people is that, while botulism is really rare, it is also REALLY serious; basically there is no cure --- if your body is attacked by it, the best they can hope to do is stop its progress before it gets to your vital parts and kills you. The parts of you it has already attacked are *gone* forever. Yikes!

Experts on risk talk about risk levels as being a combination of the likelihood of the event and the seriousness of its consequences. In this case, the former is low but the latter so dire that it counts for a LOT in most people's books!

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Zabby

Suggest that she read the threads in this forum. Many still seem to believe that what their ancestors did is perfectly safe for today. Botulism is the worst thing that can happen with these improperly canned foods. Sometimes with things like a variable acid tomato, your playing 'Russian Roulette', and cannot know what will be safe or not. If she has been selling these at farmers markets for years, and no one has been sick (or worse, dead), there could be some serious consequences if somone wanted to sue. Because farmers makets are just that, the products sold there are based on old world traditions, and she is just adding to the pot. At least she is water bathing the canning, and if its for the long lengths of time needed for these tomato based products, then, she does reduce the possibility of flourishing bacteria, but not eliminating it. Maybe a good suggestion would be for her to pressure can instead. At least that is the least she can do if she doesn't want to use added acids to her canning.

Lets just hope she will feel a little guilty now, and may opt to switch her canning process over to a pressure canner. Also, if your into the web, find a pressure canner that can handle more than 7 quart jars. In this way, she may give the bigger batch idea a shot. Also provide her with a few pressure canner sources for such things, so she can see wat is available and can benefit her productivity.

Print out some information from food safety sites to prove what you are telling her.
CAUTION: Most salsa recipes contain a mixture of low-acid foods, such as onions and chiles. Acid, such as vinegar or lemon juice must be added to prevent the bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, from growing. This bacteria produces a deadly toxin that can cause serious damage to the central nervous system or death when eaten in even small amounts. These salsa recipes have been tested to ensure that they contain enough acid to be processed safely in a boiling water canner.

Here is a link that might be useful: Salsa safety.

Other than the salsa, she's not really canning anything that I consider dangerous. Try printing out Annie's salsa recipe and convincing her to can and sell that. At least it's a tested recipe. In NC, one cannot sell home canned goods unless they are prepared in an inspected kitchen. Your state may be different.

Malon, we can't sell home canned goods here in Michigan either, unless they are prepared in an inspected kitchen.

Like you, I think she's selling the least innocuous of canned goods, at least jams and jellies would mold and you'd know that they were spoiled and most relishes have enough vinegar to keep them safe.

The salsa, though, that's more dangerous. I do find it amazing that people will just pick up a jar of something at a farmer's market and have no idea what's in it, how it's been prepared or processed. I'd like to know about the ingredients and the state of the kitchen, at least.

Annie

Annie, most people have a totally erroneous idea of how farmer's markets work. They just assume that everything was grown locally, picked at the height of freshness, etc.

With value-added products they take that a mental step further, feeling that the stuff has to be good, because it was lovingly canned in a farm kitchen.

Sometimes these things are true. And sometimes they are not. But the buying public rarely knows which is which.

Thanks all for the advice. Here in Nebraska you don't have to have certified kitchen to sell canned items nor is there any inspections of recipes or technique to make sure they are safe. Anyways, I am thinking that I will print out some of the safety guidelines, recipes and some of the stories of sickness to try and show her what can happen and how to safely can. That is why I have always refrained from selling my canned goods, I do follow regulations and am careful about recipes ( except my pickles:)) But I would hate for someone to get sick on something that I have canned

Stacie

GL, I know you are right, but those people don't even think about it enough to check for an ingredient list (or a sealed jar, for that matter). Have we lost our common sense altogether, just assuming that someone else will take care of every quality and safety concern?

I guess "let the buyer beware" counts extra in this case.

Annie (who would not like a health inspector to see the condition of her kitchen floor after yesterday's salsa making, but still...)

Stacie - A quick serach of the Nebraska Dept of Agriculture website reveals that like North Carolina, its OK to sell jams and jellies without a permit but not canned fruits, including tomatoes. Salsa would also be prohibited, since it is a "prepared food". Depending on how close you are to this person, you may want to let her know she's in violation of the law. I would hate for her to be penalized by the state, much less have someone get sick.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nebraska Dept. of Agriculture