Oh dear - where to start? They put you in a terrible position!

The green beans could have been lethal (as recent cases have shown) so they needed to be dumped. Open kettle canning of them has been "outlawed" ;) for eons. As you know they must be pressure canned.

The salsa sounds like it may be ok but it all depends on the recipe they used to begin with whether it is or isn't. Can't say without seeing the recipe. I think I would have told them to freeze it ASAP rather than the boiling etc. There is much more leeway in freezing than in canning it.

The peaches are likely the safest of the bunch and the ones from last night can be properly re-processed if done within 24 hours. Otherwise they need to be frozen. But the ones done last week - did they BWB them or just invert the jars and no processing at all? Too late to reprocess them and shelf stored for a week already? I guess I'd refrigerate and use ASAP. No point in freezing them now.

Let's see what others have to say about them, ok?

Dave

I wouldn't worry too much about the peaches. They have enough problems with the other stuff. The peaches are an acid product and the worst they'd have to worry about what be mold (visible and easily detectable) or seal failures (ditto). I'd leave well enough alone on those and concentrate on the others.

Generally foods should be re-processed within 24 hours. There is a formula offered by Washington Extension for pressure-canning salsas, even those that don't follow conventional lab-tested recipes. (Other Extension services may disagree). You can see the instructions at the link below.

For further "insurance" I'd encourage them to use that batch of salsa in cooked recipes like chili rather than eating it out of the jar. It may be overcompensating, but it falls into the "better safe than sorry" category.

I am really sorry about the wasted effort. I hope they don't give up on canning. Perhaps you can gift them on some future occasion with the NCHFP book So Easy to Preserve. Because it's ring-bound and lays flat, it's the most convenient resource to carry into the kitchen and refer to while canning.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Salsa Safety

They should not have opened the green beans unless they had only been canned 24 hours before hand. Opening jars like that can be deadly. Enough botulism can grow within a few days to kill a person. I am being serious. The jars and all should have been dumped. Same with any salsa that was made more than 24 hours ago since it would have to be treated as low acid since it is a mix of tomatoes and low acid veggies.
The fruit should be dumped, but it would be OK to open and dump since in would be higher in acid. Still, not safe to eat.
Sorry, but that is what is considered safe.
You should stress that botulism cannot be seen, smelled or tasted. It can be deadly or cause paralysis. I would print and show them the proof from CDC or some other reputable source about the botulism.
Within the past few months there has been 3 cases of botulism from homecanned green beans. No word lately as to their condition. It was a mom and her 2 children. The lady was a nurse, so I am sure she would not have just fed them the beans had they shown signs of spoilage.
I would also ask them why they are taking the advice of someone who has no food preservation safety training. Like taking your dog to an auto mechanic for a broken leg.

Thanks guys for the help. My sis in law asked last night to come up when I do green beans so that she can see how to do them properly. She said that she smelled something stinky in the cupboard and it was half the green beans that had popped open. The funny thing is that they have 2 pressure canners and 2 water bath canners that they could use, but chose the easier way. Now both my brother and sil are understanding the seriousness of botulism and proper canning methods. My brother actually asked me to ask you guys what they should do, guess everyone knows my imaginary canning friends on the internet.

Stacie

Sadly it is often human nature to choose the "easy way" - especially when they don't know any better. It was an expensive lesson for them to learn - but at least they did. Many refuse to learn it even when confronted with the evidence. So they get a gold star.

I ditto Carol's suggestion - buy them a copy of at least the BBB. :^)

Dave

The only disagreement we have is on the peaches. Barring evidence of spoilage or mold or seal failure, I don't see that it's necessary to toss those out. (Of course if they choose to, that's great.) You're not going to get botulism from peaches and they're not "unsafe" in the way green beans and salsa are unsafe. They fall into a whole different category.

Like the little boy who cried "Wolf" we have to be careful not to overstate and lose credibility.

Maybe this is a good thing. They got a lesson in safe canning practices they'll never forget.

Carol

I agree, Carol, unless the peaches become unsealed or mold, I'd leave them alone, they are not going to get botulism and die from peaches. Some things are actually dangerous practices, not quality or spoilage issues, I save my dire warnings for those things or people are going to start rolling their eyes and ignoring me.

Like you, in spite of the re-processing, I'd only use the salsa in comething cooked, like chili, I wouldn't eat it out of the jar with chips. It's an unacceptable risk for me. Truthfully, I'd probably have dumped it and started over, but with 10 minutes of boiling it should be OK. The quality after all that cooking can't be good though.

As for the beans, I am still amazed that people would even suggest canning beans without a pressure canner. It's been accepted practice since the 40s, at least. My Dad was born in 1932 and even he knew that beans must be pressure canned or pickled. Sigh.

I hope the next round of canning goes more easily, Stacie.

Annie

The peaches may very well mold or ferment since they are just sitting in the jars and nothing has been done to preserve them.
I am not sure you are all understanding the risks of opening jars with potential botulism.. you just don't do that without serious risk of contamination. Sure, boiling may kill the toxin in the food, but again, what about the little drip that gets someplace else ?
The amount of toxin to kill 60,000 people will fit on the head of a pin.
Ok, end of my lesson for now.