# Is there a risk of salmonella in homemade garlic-infused olive oil? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051 "2011-04-03T17:17:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/1 "2011-04-03T17:17:20Z")
ISTR reading that making garlic-infused olive oil carries a risk of salmonella. Does anyone have any information? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/2 "2011-04-03T17:27:00Z")
Yes, but there is a risk of salmonella in most things you eat. I haven’t seen definitive results of tests on this subject, but it seems like the issue arose when it was found that garlic may naturally harbor salmonella, and I think listeria too. I don’t know if anyone has ever gotten sick from eating garlic infused oil though. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/3 "2011-04-03T17:35:25Z")
Isn’t the risk actually of botulism? The oil creates an anaerobic environment that isn’t sterile- much like a bad canning job or something. Added to that, you are using something that grows under the ground and doesn’t have a particularly high Ph. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/4 "2011-04-03T17:37:13Z")
Could’ve been botulism. Now that you mention it, I’m not sure it was salmonella. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/5 "2011-04-03T17:38:49Z")
Oh, you meant botulism? Yes, there is a risk if the oil is kept at room temperature. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/6 "2011-04-03T18:09:39Z")
I used to use raw garlic, but since hearing of the botulism risk have switched to simmering the garlic cloves in olive oil for 20 minutes or so before bottling it. I figure that’s enough temperature to kill any botulism spores. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/7 "2011-04-03T18:38:04Z")
Johnny, there have been several past threads about botulism, and about how difficult it is to kill botulism spores even by cooking. Plan on using up any oil you infuse within a short period of time. > **[Pizza sauce and salmonella](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=471273)** > > Currently, there’s a scare about tomatoes contaminated with salmonella. Restaurants all over are dropping them like hot potatoes. But what about tomato-based sauces such as pizza sauce? Pizza places are still making pizza with it. Is it safe? I... > **[Homemade pepper vodka--botulism risk?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=253113)** > > Perhaps you’ve tried Absolut Peppar. It has no actual peppers soaking in the vodka, but Inferno has two banana peppers in it. I decided to make my own pepper vodka the other day. I bought a jug of McCormick (cheap but I couldn’t see anything wrong... [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577525&page=5](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=577525&page=5) [http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as\_q=lightning+rods&as\_epq=&as\_oq=&as\_eq=&num=100&lr=&as\_filetype=&ft=i&as\_sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fboards.straightdope.com%2Fsdmb%2F&as\_qdr=all&as\_rights=&as\_occt=any&cr=&as\_nlo=&as\_nhi=&safe=images#num=100&hl=en&lr=&as\_qdr=all&q=botulism+site:http%3A%2F%2Fboards.straightdope.com%2Fsdmb%2F&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r\_gc.r\_pw.&fp=c99decee79d1fe4a](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=lightning+rods&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=100&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=http%3A%2F%2Fboards.straightdope.com%2Fsdmb%2F&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images#num=100&hl=en&lr=&as_qdr=all&q=botulism+site:http%3A%2F%2Fboards.straightdope.com%2Fsdmb%2F&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=c99decee79d1fe4a) ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/8 "2011-04-03T18:38:06Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > I used to use raw garlic, but since hearing of the botulism risk have switched to simmering the garlic cloves in olive oil for 20 minutes or so before bottling it. I figure that’s enough temperature to kill any botulism spores. Probably not. Most of the hits I’m getting from Google on “temperature kill botulism” are similar to [this one](http://www.ehow.com/how_5516986_destroy-toxin-low-acid-foods.html), which states that you need to hit 240-250 degrees for at least 30 minutes. If I want garlic-infused oil, I just make it up as I go. Simmering garlic cloves in olive oil (as you mention) results in a very nicely garlicy oil in a relatively short time. Might as well just side-step the whole botulism issue and eat it before there’s any chance of it growing. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/9 "2011-04-03T19:02:09Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > Probably not. Most of the hits I’m getting from Google on “temperature kill botulism” are similar to [this one](http://www.ehow.com/how_5516986_destroy-toxin-low-acid-foods.html), which states that you need to hit 240-250 degrees for at least 30 minutes. > > If I want garlic-infused oil, I just make it up as I go. Simmering garlic cloves in olive oil (as you mention) results in a very nicely garlicy oil in a relatively short time. Might as well just side-step the whole botulism issue and eat it before there’s any chance of it growing. Virgin olive oil doesn’t reach the smoke point until it hits 400 deg F, so I don’t lose any sleep about that 250 deg F minimum for 30 minutes. I’m sure I’ve got the oil above 300 degrees F for 20 minutes. I could make it as I go, but sometimes I only want a tablespoon. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/10 "2011-04-04T20:34:27Z")
We routinely make our own roasted garlic at home. We peel 5-8 heads of garlic, depending on size, put in an oven safe dish, and top with olive oil. Put in a 350-400F oven, stir every 15 min or so, and cook until the garlics are nice and golden, but not yet hard. (Usually about an hour or so) We then transfer into clean canning jars, and refrigerate. When we’ve used too much of the oil, we add more to the jars. The garlics are great in all sorts of things that you want a garlic flavor, but not the sharp bite of fresh garlic. The oil is fantastic for dipping. I’m not dead yet, and I’ve been doing this for 10+ years. The garlic is heated to well over 250 for the better part of the cooking time, killing anything that might be alive, then refrigerated. The oil does “harden” in the fridge, but liquifies pretty quick on the counter, or in a pan. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/11 "2011-04-04T22:55:06Z")
Speaking as one with a professional background in Microbiology, I recommend a bit of Googling like [this](http://www.google.com/search?q=oil+garlic+botulism&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en) before making your own oil. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/12 "2011-04-04T23:08:51Z")
> [@jasg](#): > > Speaking as one with a professional background in Microbiology, I recommend a bit of Googling like [this](http://www.google.com/search?q=oil+garlic+botulism&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en) before making your own oil. Yeah, if I die from _clostridium botulinum_ toxin I won’t come crying to you, but I won’t die, so it’s kinda moot. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/13 "2020-08-28T02:14:29Z")
Well, I cut up some garlic and put it in a bottle of oil a while back… and it wasn’t until today that my stupid brain realized that the wonderful anaerobic environment at the bottom of the oil bottle would probably be a great place for _c. botulinum_ to thrive. So what should I be watching out for after our lovely pasta dinner cooked with my garlic oil? (Of course, I’ve been using it over the course of the last 10 days, since I made it, but I imagine it would take time to get to Bad Levels. BTW: Discourse suggested this thread to me when I started to create my own, so that’s a pretty neat feature. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-risk-of-salmonella-in-homemade-garlic-infused-olive-oil/577051/14 "2020-08-28T02:55:02Z")
I’m always finding very low prices on peeled garlic cloves at the Asian markets and it’s tough for me to use them all up in time so I think I need to put together some garlic confit. It’s simmered for 30 minutes so I’m thinking it should hit the magic temperature just fine. Recipe claims good to store in the fridge for 4 months. > **[Garlic Confit Recipe](https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/garlic-confit)** > > Mash this garlic confit in butter and spread it on bread or slip it under chicken skin before roasting. Use fresh summer garlic which is especially sweet and juicy.