Botulism

by Mollie

This is my first time on this site and I love it! Thank you so much.

I couldn't find an answer to a question I have. About 4 years ago I bought a 25 lb bag of brown sugar and vacuum sealed it, then put it in plastic buckets. I was just reading about moisture content and botulism, and that it shouldn't be dry packed in # 10 cans. Do you think the brown sugar could be susceptible to botulism by the vacuum sealing? I also have done this with powdered milk and regular oatmeal. Are they safe?

The reason I vacuum packed these items was to make it easier to store and use.

Thank you so much for your help. I am going to tell many of your website.

ANSWER

Wow, Mollie, you stumped me on this one. So I started researching and so far I haven't found anything about botulism in brown sugar. A sign of botulism in canned goods is a bulging can. If you ever have a bulging can, don't even open it - just throw it out.

As for the powdered milk and oatmeal, did you use oxygen absorbers as well as desiccant moisture absorbers? Or maybe you used diatomaceous earth? When you vacuum pack dry foods, you probably don't need oxygen absorbers, although it can't hurt. But you definitely should use moisture absorbers.

I would guess that the powdered milk and oatmeal are just fine. Just pay attention to the smell, look, or texture when you open them. If anything seems "off", don't eat it.

Thank you for asking an important question. I'm sure that all can benefit from it.

I'm glad you love my site and I hope it helps you with your food storage. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have - anytime.

If anyone else can add knowledge to this subject, it would be much appreciated.