Food - Drink
The Step You Must Take To Properly Dispose Of Spoiled Canned Food
By HALDAN KIRSCH
At-home canning is a fun hobby, but it does come with safety risks such as botulism, a deadly disease linked to bacteria in homemade canned foods. Foodborne illness can be prevented by properly canning low-acid foods, removing excess air from your cans, not using outdated recipes, and knowing what to do if your food is spoiled.
Common signs of spoiled canned food include bulging jar lids, strange odors, or dents and breaks in the vessel. If your spoiled jars leak or break, clean the contaminated area with a bleach solution to prevent bacteria from spreading in your home, and immediately throw away the rags or towels used to clean up the spillage.
Once you've cleaned up any spills and it's time to dispose of the jars, one of the most vital steps before getting rid of them is to decontaminate them completely. Most of the bacteria should be killed before disposal to avoid contaminating the place where you dump the jars and making the area dangerous upon contact.
Suspicious jars of food (contents and all) should be placed into a pot and covered entirely with water, boiled for 30 minutes, then left to cool. Dispose of the jars in a safe place where they won't come into contact with children or pets, and lastly, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly after touching the jars.