I can relate although my fear was blowing things up. My first efforts weren't too pretty because they were overcooked and too much water boiled away, but they were still edible.Typhoid from a flood sounds like leaky jars. The main worry is botulism, which only grows in an anaerobic environment such as your vacuum sealed jars. This is why the Ball company (best jars) and the USDA have both written the Bibles of canning, with the procedures to cook the stuff long enough to kill the botulism spores, if any. That takes a temperature of 250 F sustained long enough to heat the entire contents long enough, depending on jar size and ingredients, which is why you need a pressure canner. Not a pressure cooker. But, if you did open something and were worried, the botulism poison is broken down by boiling 10 minutes, or you could make a baked dish.
I can relate although my fear was blowing things up. My first efforts weren't too pretty because they were overcooked and too much water boiled away, but they were still edible.Typhoid from a flood sounds like leaky jars. The main worry is botulism, which only grows in an anaerobic environment such as your vacuum sealed jars. This is why the Ball company (best jars) and the USDA have both written the Bibles of canning, with the procedures to cook the stuff long enough to kill the botulism spores, if any. That takes a temperature of 250 F sustained long enough to heat the entire contents long enough, depending on jar size and ingredients, which is why you need a pressure canner. Not a pressure cooker. But, if you did open something and were worried, the botulism poison is broken down by boiling 10 minutes, or you could make a baked dish.