Antioch man’s death possibly linked to gas station nacho cheese botulism outbreak

San Jose Mercury ^ | May 20, 2017 | Aaron Davis

[artichokegrower]

The outbreak of foodborne botulism originating from a gas station in Walnut Grove has left 10 people hospitalized, the state Department of Health reported Friday, and an Antioch resident may have died as a result.

The botulism was reported to have come from nacho cheese sauce sold at the Valley Oak Food and Fuel gas station in Walnut Grove.

[GnuThere]

If it’s a rural area where they also sell bait and worms in the same store, I might avoid it.
Don’t ask me how I know.

[ClearBlueSky]

Eating fast food from a gas station owned third world types-whose idea of sanitation is prehistoric -can only be good for you.

[ssaftler]

If it’s a rural area where they also sell bait and worms in the same store, I might avoid it.

You nailed it! Walnut Grove is a little town along the waterway between San Francisco and Sacramento. IIRC, the town has about 10 buildings, and a few bait shops on the main road that runs by the waterway.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I wouldn’t feed gas station pizza to my dog, if I had one.

[Gay State Conservative]

Clostridium botulinum only grows in food that is improperly processed...the gas station, however, should do fine.

I'm no microbiologist but I wonder if improper refrigeration could be a factor (or *the* factor) in this particular matter.

[tumblindice]

Honey, you lucky girl. Put on a clean tee-shirt.
We’re going to the Food an’ Fuel for subs! My treat.

[skimbell]

Yeah, we had French food tonight.

Ran down and picked up a Larg Bookett.

[xrmusn]

Hell, I used to eat off the carts in Mexico(etc) I must be immune.
= = = = = = = = = = = = =
Get me overseas and point me to the nearest street corner...yummeeee

However I believe that the Mexican and Asian street corner food was not me being immune, I think there is a direct correlation to # of Adult beverages one tends to consume in a given period.

Though I have NOT had alcohol since 1990, I find NOTHING can live inside me...I don’t get colds, flu or whatever people around me are putting out.....

I also believed there was a ‘message’ in the fact there are 24 hours in a day and 24 cans in a case of beer, THEN following the ‘logic’ that 1 or 2 beers an hour are not bad.

Do the math........HA HA HA...

Also figured - way back when - that you had to keep score on the chart of a beer a day... I figure, even with a 27 year hiatus I am still caught up till sometime in 2030 or so...

[exDemMom]

No. On other food poisoning causes, that would be a primary factor, but in this case, improper sterilization of the food at the time of manufacture is the cause.

Clostridium botulinum grows in an environment without oxygen—so a sealed can is perfect for it. It forms heat-resistant spores which cannot be killed by boiling, so canned food must be heated above the boiling point (to 121 C for a sufficient period of time for the entire contents of the can to reach that temperature).

This problem did not originate at the gas station. The cheese was already poisonous before it was delivered to the gas station.

I would not be surprised if that entire lot of cheese is recalled. Since food manufacturers have gone out of business over incidents like this, the cheese manufacturer may not be around much longer.

One last detail: often, botulinum neurotoxin cannot be smelled, seen, or tasted. So the cheese might have looked perfectly okay to the person who set it out for sale. In any case, it is never safe to eat food from a bulging can, or canned food that looks or smells odd.

[Drago]

They also have some nice TV transmitter towers that you can see from I-5! (Sacramento market).

https://www.fybush.com/sites/2005/site-051111.html

“Downtown”: https://goo.gl/maps/bwtuckeVHku

[Karliner]

....I find NOTHING can live inside me...I don’t get colds, flu or whatever people around me are putting out....

Appears to be my case. I have eaten some nasty stuff and my stomach is a titanium garbage disposal full of Drano and hydrochloric acid and the rest! No idea how I've survived. Yep, gotten sick but nothing the way others have. I don't drink either but the concept works for me! I mean how did I eat those danged water cashews and live? I should be in a hospital!

[RightGeek]

Whoa! Gives new meaning to “Eat and get gas”

[Flick Lives]

I often wonder about those hot dogs one sees at the local Store-24. You know the ones they keep spinning on those steel rollers under the heat lamps. How long have they been there? Who buys them? Does anyone buy them or are they the Store-24 equivalent of the barber pole, a mesmerizing bit of store decor.

[Organic Panic]

I am surprised any organosm could survive on that unknown substance called “nacho cheese.”

[DoughtyOne]

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[Auntie Mame]

Check this out. The article says “health officers from the state Department of Health impounded four bags of Gehls cheese sauce.” Not canned, it came in bags. They also impounded the chips. I can’t see how chips could have the organism.

No recall notice showed up in a Google search. They’ve had plenty of time to test the cheese. Wonder what it could be if it’s not the cheese?

[clamper1797]

Is Isleton still a ghost town out there?

[Rebelbase]

I love the ending of that episode.

“I prepared it while I bathed”.

[Rebelbase]

I doubt refrigeration had anything to do with it. The cheese comes out of a can.

[exDemMom]

The cheese is still sealed in airtight bags—perfect conditions for Clostridium botulinum to grow.

http://www.foodservicedirect.com/product.cfm/p/131304/Gehls-Cheese-Sauce.htm

The toxin could have come from canned peppers. Any inadequately sterilized low-acid food in an airtight environment can become contaminated with botulinum neurotoxin.

I’m sure the CDC is doing a thorough investigation.