Botulism is a very dangerous and in many cases fatal toxicoinfectious disease that occurs when consuming products contaminated with a microbe of the clostridia group. The causative agent is a bacterium - Clostridium botulinum. Clostridia spores are present in large quantities in the soil, where they can exist for many years, in the intestines of many animals, from where they enter the soil with feces, as well as in the silt of lakes and seas from fish and shellfish. Food products contaminated with this microbe and insufficiently processed cause botulism.
Botulism most often occurs after consuming homemade products that were made in violation of basic cooking and storage rules – smoked, dried, meat and fish products, as well as canned (meat, fish, vegetables and mushrooms).
We emphasize! The disease is easier to prevent than to treat, therefore, to avoid botulism, we advise you to strictly adhere to basic hygiene requirements when processing, storing and preparing food and raw materials, namely:
- for canning, use only fresh, good-quality products without signs of spoilage;
- strictly follow the rules for sterilizing jars, lids, and heat treatment of products at home;
- homemade canned food should be stored in the refrigerator, in a cool place and preferably for no more than a year;
- It is advisable to use only industrially produced canned food, since the technology and recipe for their preparation are designed to prevent botulism and to conduct appropriate laboratory control;
- do not eat canned food at the slightest suspicion of its poor quality, do not use products from blown (bombed) cans;
- quickly and thoroughly clean the fish, be sure to remove the intestines from it;
- When purchasing dried and cured industrial fish, even in retail outlets, pay attention to its appearance, storage conditions, and whether it is labeled with the date of manufacture and expiration date;
- Before canning, raw materials must be thoroughly washed with clean running water to remove soil residues.
We also remind you of the dangers of wild trade! Do not buy meat products, canned goods, as well as smoked, salted and dried fish at wild markets, made at home without laboratory control, because products purchased in wild trade places can be dangerous to your health!
If you make purchases in online stores or on sharing platforms, make sure that there is mandatory information about the food product, in accordance with articles 6 The Law of Ukraine "On Information for Consumers on Food Products", as well as on the seller, in accordance with Article 7 The Law of Ukraine "On Electronic Commerce", in particular:
- full name of the legal entity or surname, first name, patronymic of the individual entrepreneur;
- location of the legal entity or place of registration and place of actual residence of the individual entrepreneur;
- identification code for a legal entity or registration number of a taxpayer registration card for an individual entrepreneur, or series and passport number for an individual entrepreneur who, due to their religious beliefs, refused to accept a registration number of a taxpayer registration card and officially notified the relevant tax authority about this and has a mark in their passport.
Be careful, take care of your health and the health of your loved ones! Listen to the above advice!