date:Dec 19, 2018
, and they can contaminate the spuds. The spores can sometimes survive the baking process. If the potatoes are baked while tightly wrapped in aluminum foil, that creates an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment. And that creates the perfect conditions for botulism spores to germinate, grow, and produce the botulism toxin.
A large botulism outbreak in Texas in 1994 was linked to a potato-based dip. Thirty people were sickened. Investigators found Botulism toxin type A in the patients and the dip.