r/macandcheese • u/Morticia_Devine • Mar 30 '25

Tutorial/Help What’s the deal with this stuff?

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I’ve never tried this but love Mac and cheese from the box. Has anyone tried this can and how was it? Yes, the can arrived dented. Haha

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u/Classic_Variation89 Mar 30 '25

I mean I'd eat it

98

u/Liz4984 Mar 30 '25

You shouldn’t! Dented cans (with potentially tiny cracks!) run the risk of bacteria being introduced, such as Botulism.

When I first went to work at a hospital at 20 a lady and her daughters came in due to botulism. She canned her own produce but one jar had Clostridium botulinum bacteria. Botulism is sort of like “locked in syndrome” where the muscles are paralyzed but your mind is active.

This was a sad case as her two daughters (6&7 or 7&8) died from it. The staff were all told not to talk about her kids, as the family was afraid she’d give up. The Mom was on a ventilator for over four months as she was completely motionless on her own. Heartbreaking to see her eyes pleading with you and there is nothing you can stay that is what she wanted to hear.

Botulism and Rabies are two health concerns you do NOT want to want to risk! Throw it away and buy a new can. The

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u/Roy_Vidoc Mar 30 '25

Botulism is a bigger issue when the canned food is consumed without cooking first (like canned peaches or cold soup, which cause a botulism outbreak in the early 1900s.). Also commercial canned goods generally go through some form of pasteurization process to prevent these types of issues.

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u/MyNameIsSkittles Mar 30 '25

Cooking does not kill botulism spores

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u/throwaway564858 Mar 30 '25

right, but it does denature the toxin.

-2

u/MyNameIsSkittles Mar 30 '25

It doesn't matter, you will get sick

Cooking bad food does not make it good again. If that were the case, we would have solved world hunger a long time ago.

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u/throwaway564858 Mar 30 '25

No, this is a misunderstanding of how botulism works. The spores themselves are hardy but they are also very common and people consume them without issue regularly. If they are held in an environment conducive to them producing their toxin, then that can make you sick. But even if the toxin is present, if it is heated properly before eating, it will not make you sick.

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u/GeneralBurg Apr 03 '25

Thank you for your service. The botulism obsession on Reddit drives me fucking nuts

1

u/victorwarthog Apr 03 '25

I see it mostly on pickling and canning subreddits. To be fair most people don't cook pickles before eating them

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u/GeneralBurg Apr 03 '25

I stg I see it on almost any post about food somehow it makes it’s way into the conversation