Every few months Cooperative Extension Agents in Utah get wind of some dubious food storage recommendations.  Often these are espoused by traveling food storage presenters selling their book and line of food storage products.  Some of these food storage ideas can be quite dangerous!

Home Canned Butter, especially unsalted, canned butter. The methods circulating for canning butter have not been scientifically determined.  It is true that there is one known manufacturer of canned salted butter, but we are unaware of any research supporting a safe canning process.  Canning unsalted butter may be especially dangerous.  Unsalted canned butter has NO protection from Clostridium botulinum (botulism). 

Petroleum jelly or mineral oil covered raw eggs. (Why - this is a shelf life extension (quality extension) method, NOT a food preservation method.  This is a major foodborne illness risk if eggs are stored above refrigeration temperature).  The rationale for this recommendation may come from the egg industry itself with one key fact left out.  Mineral oil (often called egg oil) may be rubbed onto egg shells to fill their pores.  This minimizes air and bacteria entry prolonging their (refrigerated) shelf life.  Many commercial eggs are treated in this manner today.  But, the big difference, is that they are always refrigerated.  Some of the recommendations we have seen have been for room temperature storage and are not safe.

Milled Grains (Whole wheat flour, Cornmeal, Cereal, Granola)

(Why - quality deterioration).  Basically, milling or grinding makes the interior surfaces of grains accessible to oxygen.  The oxygen then can catalyze oxidation reactions leading to rancidity of the grain oils and cause changes to other chemicals in the flours.  Consuming these foods in an emergency are safe, just not palatable.

Oily Grains or Seeds (Nuts, Brown rice, Pearled barley, Sesame seeds, and flax seeds)

(Why - quality deterioration).  Oily grains or seeds are varieties that have high levels of oils or high levels of oils subject to rapid rancidity.  Rancidity is the oxidation of oils or fats producing volatile aldehydes and ketones that smell and taste bad.  Rancid foods are difficult for humans to consume, even under emergency situations.  The more unsaturated the oil the greater chances for rapid rancidity.  So, the better an oil is for you, the more likely it will deteriorate quickly.  Consuming these foods in an emergency are safe, just not palatable.

Home canned Quick Breads
(Why - unsafe and potentially dangerous).  A recipe for baking zucchini bread in a canning jar has been widely distributed with a 45 minute baking time at 325 degrees F. The baking of the bread does not kill Clostridium botulinum.  Clostridium is a spore forming organism.  Their spores are resistant to destruction by heat or other environmental factors. Researchers at Kansas State University baked banana nut bread batter in canning jars at three different temperatures (350, 375 and 400 degrees F) from 30 to 55 minutes.  The batter had been inoculated with Clostridium spores.  After baking and cooling, spores could be easily recovered after several days, weeks, and months.  A smart reader might then ask, how is regular bread safe from botulism?  There are two reasons.  The first is fermentation.  Yeast consume all of the available sugars and produce by products that make it hard for the botulism organism to grow.  Secondly, baking (outside of a jar) allows moisture loss, leaving breads dryer.  Baking breads in jars traps in all of the moisture (perhaps leading to its popularity).