Now I'm worried I have botulism

[malilian]

I was doing fine for a week! then I microwaved a pot pie in a container on a broken ceramic plate.

When I took it out it had a small amount of brown & black liquid leaking out of some cracks, so little it didn't even register as "liquid" at first.
The pot pie was not directly touching the plate & I'm certain I've eaten from a plate like this before without a problem

When I looked it up somebody mentioned botulism, I can't find anything else about broken/leaking ceramics + botulism specifically or whether it can occur in those conditions, but as soon as I saw the word I started shaking uncontrollably and now I have a few alarms set on my phone.. I don't think I'm sleeping tonight

[Fishmanpa]

You Googled, grabbed the most improbable thing and attached it to your situation. Whatever it was, it was microwave into oblivion! If a microwave can explode an electronic device, think about what it would do to a bacteria :ohmy:

Positive thoughts

[JoeCanuck]

I know a fair bit about botulism because I make cured meats at home, so it was one of the things that I studied up on early in the process so I didn't accidentally poison myself so here's some info:

Unless you're curing meats at home, consuming cured meats from sketchy sources, consuming home canned foods that were canned improperly or using improper recipes, or doing silly stuff like storing raw plant matter in oil at room temperature and then consuming said oil without first heating it to 185F for 5 minutes, botulism is one of those things that you should never worry about (with one caveat that I will get to in a second). It only really grows and produces toxins in an environment where it has 1) food and 2) no oxygen. So unless you're making a habit of doing the things mentioned above, you're pretty much safe from botulism as a whole.

The caveat to this is if you're a baby (Less than 3 years old), elderly or have a weakened immune system. Then you have to be a bit (and I do mean a bit) more careful about eating things that might contain botulism.

So just to reiterate: You're fine.

[WorryRaptor]

I know a fair bit about botulism because I make cured meats at home, so it was one of the things that I studied up on early in the process so I didn't accidentally poison myself so here's some info:

Unless you're curing meats at home, consuming cured meats from sketchy sources, consuming home canned foods that were canned improperly or using improper recipes, or doing silly stuff like storing raw plant matter in oil at room temperature and then consuming said oil without first heating it to 185F for 5 minutes, botulism is one of those things that you should never worry about (with one caveat that I will get to in a second). It only really grows and produces toxins in an environment where it has 1) food and 2) no oxygen. So unless you're making a habit of doing the things mentioned above, you're pretty much safe from botulism as a whole.

The caveat to this is if you're a baby (Less than 3 years old), elderly or have a weakened immune system. Then you have to be a bit (and I do mean a bit) more careful about eating things that might contain botulism.

So just to reiterate: You're fine.

I'm having similar worries about botulism being everywhere. For example, a bin bag got accidentally forgotten in the kitchen and somebody threw a half full milk carton in there. We were away for a few days and came home to the smell of sour milk. I lifted the bin bag and old milk went everywhere. I cleaned the floor and threw the bag out but I'm terrified that botulism grew in that old milk and the bin bag created a seal with no oxygen. I assume the carton leaked while sitting in the bin bag for 3-4 days. Am I being irrational? I'm terrified it's all over the kitchen surfaces and that I accidentally got some on my face or mouth while cleaning or that I walked it through the house when throwing the bin bag out. My boyfriend has walked around and prepared food without a second thought so I'm sitting here watching for symptoms. Can it grow in those conditions?

[wilky44]

Firstly, I seriously doubt you had a complete air tight seal on your bag, so that rules out the first scenario. Secondly, unless botulism grows wings, it wouldn't be everywhere in the house, and thirdly, yes, your being irrational

[WorryRaptor]

Firstly, I seriously doubt you had a complete air tight seal on your bag, so that rules out the first scenario. Secondly, unless botulism grows wings, it wouldn't be everywhere in the house, and thirdly, yes, your being irrational
The airtight fear is the fact it settled at the base of the bin bag. When i lifted the bag it split and milk flowed all over floor and splashed like it had been trapped in one place for a long time, all the trash and plastic on top could have prevented oxygen from reaching the old pooled milk. I do agree it sounds so irrational, I just keep obsessing over the fact milk isn't acidic enough to prevent the toxin being produced and that the bottom of a bin created the perfect environment.:unsure:

[wilky44]

No, all the stuff on top will not have stopped oxygen getting to it at all. Oxygen is composed of molecules, which are incredibly small, so unless you've managed somehow to create a perfect alignment of the trash compacted it, and removed all the atmosphere somehow, then you cannot have stopped the oxygen at all.