Botulism and Potato Soup.By Vincent Iannelli, M.D., About.com Guide   July 7, 2011.We don’t here about botulism much these days, unless it is about someone getting botox injections. A new report from the CDC, "Botulism Caused by Consumption of Commercially Produced Potato Soups Stored Improperly — Ohio and Georgia, 2011," is a good reminder of just how serious the toxin from  C. botulinum bacteria can be. The report describes two cases of prolonged illnesses associated with toxin type A botulism, including:

•  a man in Ohio who ate a small amount of potato soup that had been unrefrigerated for 42 days from a bulging plastic container. He didn’t finish the soup because it had a bad taste, but got sick over the next five days and ended up in the hospital for 57 days.

•     a woman in Georgia who ate a small amount of potato soup that had been unrefrigerated for 18 days. She also didn’t finish the soup because it had a sour taste, got sick over the four days, and was hospitalized for 16 days.

After being in the hospital, both patients required care in a rehabilitation facility for residual weakness. Although these kinds of incidents are not common, with about 19 cases since 1975, it is a good reminder to store chilled foods properly. And never eat food that is labeled "keep refrigerated" if it has not been stored at a proper temperature.

Foodborne botulism is also associated with home-canned foods and sometimes commercially canned foods, especially when cans are dented or bulging. And infants under twelve months old should not eat honey because of the risk of botulism.