Both are right, botulism in home canning is the perfect example...
With canned meats, if you don't get the meat/bottle hot enough, for long enough, the botulism spores (germs) are not killed. Then they have the perfect 'terrain' to grow in; low acid, low salt, water, food, no oxygen. Then the spores will grow, releasing the toxin as they do. The botulism spore is non-toxic but is notoriously hard to kill. The toxin is one of the most toxic substances known to man but is super easy to denature; just heat it above 65 degrees C (iirc) for a few seconds.
There is a quote about it in cultures that rely on canned meat for survival, "If the seal is good and it looks good and smells good it is good, if you heat it up good." All other germs/pathogens stink and look bad, except botulism which is invisible. I always boil my bottles, unopened, in water for 15 mins until there is bubbling inside the bottle before I open it. That way if a spore survived [the canning process] and the bottle is full of botulism toxin it won't matter because it has been denatured. It odorless and tasteless anyway.
With jam we add sugar and acid, thereby changing the 'terrain' so it can't grow, we leave the spores (germs) alive because they can't grow.
With fermenting we add >4% salt and acid, changing the 'terrain', again, we leave the spores (germs) alive because they can't grow.
Know the ways of your enemy and you will fight many battles without danger.
Edit: Most cases of botulism these days come from homemade precooked then frozen meals. Make sure you get that frozen meatloaf, shepherds pie, lasagna, etc nice and hot before you eat it!
Edit 2: Jam is heated briefly to kill everything except botulism spores, aka, pasteurization.
But in terms of fresh raw milk from a healthy cow, I don't believe pasteurization is beneficial.
Agreed, and the why is beautiful. Competitive exclusion.
Raw milk products have a healthy and beneficial microbiome. As it ages, and this microbiome grows, it becomes different but still lovely (ie, yogurts, cheeses, keifer, sour cream, etc) because the natural biome prevents opportunistic microbes from setting up shop; the food is colonized and spoken for.
However, after pasteurization all the natural microbes are dead so any passing microbe can set up shop and get to work, leading to a random and disgusting mess. Pasteurized milk has to have hydrogen peroxide added during shipping to prevent spoilage. In places without refrigeration people often throw a tablespoon of peroxide in a 4L jug of milk, then you can leave it at room temperature without spoilage for some time.
Both are right, botulism in home canning is the perfect example...
With canned meats, if you don't get the meat/bottle hot enough, for long enough, the botulism spores (germs) are not killed. Then they have the perfect 'terrain' to grow in; low acid, low salt, water, food, no oxygen. Then the spores will grow, releasing the toxin as they do. The botulism spore is non-toxic but is notoriously hard to kill. The toxin is one of the most toxic substances known to man but is super easy to denature; just heat it above 65 degrees C (iirc) for a few seconds.
There is a quote about it in cultures that rely on canned meat for survival, "If the seal is good and it looks good and smells good it is good, if you heat it up good." All other germs/pathogens stink and look bad, except botulism which is invisible. I always boil my bottles, unopened, in water for 15 mins until there is bubbling inside the bottle before I open it. That way if a spore survived [the canning process] and the bottle is full of botulism toxin it won't matter because it has been denatured. It odorless and tasteless anyway.
With jam we add sugar and acid, thereby changing the 'terrain' so it can't grow, we leave the spores (germs) alive because they can't grow.
With fermenting we add >4% salt and acid, changing the 'terrain', again, we leave the spores (germs) alive because they can't grow.
Know the ways of your enemy and you will fight many battles without danger.
Edit: Most cases of botulism these days come from homemade precooked then frozen meals. Make sure you get that frozen meatloaf, shepherds pie, lasagna, etc nice and hot before you eat it!
Edit 2: Jam is heated briefly to kill everything except botulism spores, aka, pasteurization.
I confess I don't know the full breadth of Pasteur's work, or Béchamp's. That's good info to keep in mind on the terrain vs pathogen debate.
But in terms of fresh raw milk from a healthy cow, I don't believe pasteurization is beneficial.
Agreed, and the why is beautiful. Competitive exclusion.
Raw milk products have a healthy and beneficial microbiome. As it ages, and this microbiome grows, it becomes different but still lovely (ie, yogurts, cheeses, keifer, sour cream, etc) because the natural biome prevents opportunistic microbes from setting up shop; the food is colonized and spoken for.
However, after pasteurization all the natural microbes are dead so any passing microbe can set up shop and get to work, leading to a random and disgusting mess. Pasteurized milk has to have hydrogen peroxide added during shipping to prevent spoilage. In places without refrigeration people often throw a tablespoon of peroxide in a 4L jug of milk, then you can leave it at room temperature without spoilage for some time.
Fascinating! Thanks for the info.
Glad to help!
Cheers fren!