Sorry! That was a click bait title. However, as far as food poisoning goes, there really is very little that is new - the same old suspects keep turning up.
I've written about Clostridium botulinum before (and you can find those posts by searching the labels). It has now caused food poisoning in Vietnam, this time in Minh Chay pate products, which have all been recalled. The outbreak is reported in Food Safety News. The article includes a photograph of the product, which is packed in screw capped jars and possibly cans.
The Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health, inspected the premises and found 'sanitary issues' with cleaning and drainage. The factory was instructed to cease production until the problems were fixed.
There is insufficient information in the article to make definitive pronouncements on the causes of the contamination, but some reasonable arguments can be made. C. botulinum releases a toxin when it sporulates, and for this it must grow. Since the bacterium is anaerobic, it requires the absence of oxygen. It appears, therefore, that the pate was contaminated during manufacture, possibly from the unclean factory environment, and the organism then grew in the sealed containers. The article doesn't state whether the product was hot-filled, or heat processed in the containers. In the former scenario, the spores of C. botulinum could germinate and grow in the product, eventually leading to toxin production. If the containers were heat processed after filling, it is possible that contaminated cooling water leaked into the containers through faulty seams or seals.
The toxin binds in the nerve synapses and prevents the secretion of acetyl choline, thus preventing nerve impulse transmission. This usually causes respiratory paralysis, so patients need support to breathe.
Interestingly, if you search for 'Botulin toxin' on-line, the first five hits refer to Botox, the cosmetic treatment to reduce frown lines and crows' feet. Food poisoning is mentioned almost as an afterthought.
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