I bought a can of refried pinto beans at my local supermarket, and as I was putting it away, I noticed that if I pushed my thumb into the can, there was “give.” I checked a few soup cans in my cabinet and they were solid, so I’m wondering if this can is defective. Should I chuck it?
When in doubt, toss it out! No illness is worth the $2.
This is my philosophy too. Is it worth getting sick over? Chuck it. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with it, maybe there is. What you’re describing is one of the things I was always taught to look out for in a “bad” can. Buy the peace of mind for the price of the can. Throw it away.
I thought botulism always made the can swell at the top.
You just bought it? Take it back and ask for a refund. Most supermarkets are pretty good at accepting returns with no questions asked (though you should probably tell them WHY you’re returning it so they don’t restock it.)
I thought that’s what Jrubas was describing – the can has become a bit swollen, so the top has some “give” when pushed on that normal cans don’t.
That’s a safety feature of some cans. If food becomes toxic, it releases gasses that push out the button in the center of the lid. If the food is safe, the button is flush with the lid. If the button bulges out, and gives when you push on it, chuck the food. It’s gone toxic. Or return it if you just bought it.
Or heat it to 160+ degrees F. The dead can’t hurt you anymore.
A quick search says 175°F for 10 minutes or more.
As I understand it, your advice is lethally bad. The toxin is still present even if the bacteria who made it are dead. (and in most cases, they would be dead in the case of a can. They would operate long enough to make the food toxic, then die from too many waste products because the can is sealed)
You need much higher temperatures to destroy the non-living toxins they make.
throw it out if you want to live a longer life
eat it if you like going to hospitals
Actually, you didn’t read your source very well.
The spores are much tougher than the toxin itself. The toxin is destroyed at 175°F for 10 minutes or boiling for 5 minutes, but the spores will survive. However, the spores are not particularly dangerous - they can be ingested without serious consequences (unless you are an infant).
Still, I would just toss the can.
This won’t apply to most of you, but it also depends on a person’s elevation. Here in Colorado, it’s common for certain shapes and sizes of cans to have a slight degree of bulge. There’s no way to equalize the pressure, so as the outside atmospheric pressure drops, the container starts to bulge. This produces interesting effects sometimes with softer forms of packaging.
Medical advice belongs in IMHO.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
True, but all the containers would do this, and the can wouldn’t have “give” because the internal pressure would be that much higher.
Not only that, but if someone returns a defective can, they will go out to the shelves and see if the other cans are similarly affected, and pull them if they are.
Refried pinto beans? I’d throw that even if the can was perfectly solid!
But I’ve notice lately that many cans seem less sturdy than they used to be. Possibly manufacturers are saving money by using a thinner metal can? Or maybe it’s because the same can that used to contain 16 ounces now only has 14.5 ounces in it?