cold smoking

[sushi]

Can anyone put my mind at rest. I have just read about Botulism in smoked food. I am worried about eating it now. What salt do i use for curing and will this stop Botulism.
Help        :-\

[Habanero Smoker]

There is not simple answer to your question. If you can be more specific in what your are smoking, length of time in the smoker etc.

Here are some execllent article written by members of this forum.
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=9
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=14

[Gizmo]

Welcome sushi,
Please post the link to the reference on smoked botulism.   It would make for some good comparison information.

[manxman]

As HS says, there is not a simple answer to your question as there are so many variables..... perhaps the bottom line is that botilism cases have dropped considerably in recent years and it is now very rare which means that commercial and home food processors must be getting it right.  ;)

Smoked food is just one of a list of foods associated with botulism but as long as:

a) if you are curing and/or smoking the food yourself you follow normal good hygeine / processing procedures

b) if buying smoked / cured products you buy from a known and trusted source

botulism is VERY unlikely be an issue.

Clostridium Botulinum is everywhere in our enviroment but needs specific conditions to grow and produce the toxins that cause illness.

For example, the increase in people home vacuuming food in itself could lead to an increase in cases if people did not adequately refridgerate the food concurrently as the bug thrives in a no oxygen atmosphere but not in a cold atmosphere.

The best thing to "stop" botilism is by paying strict attention to good hygeine / processing techniques whether it is hot smoked, cold smoked or indeed any of the other types of food associated with botulism, curing will help but not completly remove the risk if other factors are not considered.

Given the extremely low numbers of cases I think botulism is something to be well aware of but certainly not let it diminish your enjoyment of cold smoked produce, I would be more concerned about many of the other types of food poisoning which occur far more frequently in general.

Welcome to the forum, a read of the articles that HS suggested may fill in many of the gaps and if you find any other articles it would be useful to post the links.

[Stickbowcrafter]

I've been smoking and eating smoked foods for years, never had a single problem. There's always a proper way to do any type of food smoking/curing. Just make sure you gain a basic understanding of the specific procedure and food safety before you attempt each particular dish.

-Brian