## Highlights ### q1 botulism spores are omnipresent > A few years later, scientists discovered something even more remarkable. The spores that produce these deadly bacteria were almost everywhere. They were found in the soil, on the surface of vegetables, in animal faeces and within riverbeds. They could survive being boiled, being frozen, and cope with highly acidic environments. Thankfully, these spores were also harmless, passing through humans unchanged if ingested. But under the correct conditions, they would turn back into bacteria, producing a deadly neurotoxin. If this toxin was ingested, even in the tiniest quantities imaginable, it would produce a slow paralysis moving down the body, eventually shutting down vital processes like breathing. For anyone unlucky enough to consume it, the survival rate was around 60 - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6rhxh1w8gbfq6hs8dw3b2c) ### q2 botulism was common in early canned goods > To grow, Botulinum spores require a low salt, oxygen free environment, with low acidity, enough water, access to protein and a few other nutrients. The inside of a piece of cooked meat is ideal, but so is the inside of many canned foods if they are not processed adequately. As a result, botulism nearly derailed the nascent food canning industry completely, with cases becoming increasingly common as the industry expanded in the early twentieth century Kind of reminds me of how people talk about nuclear power - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6rq8kp7hwnygse2eqnv8c5) ### q3 Karl Frederick Meyer is an underrated scientist > the 1920s, when Karl Frederick Meyer, a brilliant infectious disease specialist working for the US National Canners Association, formalised sterilisation and temperature control techniques to combat the threat of botulism. Meyer, who also worked on vaccines, disease epidemiology and milk processing, is a largely unheralded hero of global public health. Many consider him the twentieth century’s Pasteur, and his work doubtless saved millions of lives. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6rsqgd24gvgfvyg4bht8g4) ### q4 heating food enough to kill botulism ruins the taste > To combat botulism in canned foods, it is necessary for all parts of the sealed can to reach an internal temperature of 121C, as this is sufficient to destroy botulinum spores, leaving the contents of the can free from the potential for bacterial growth. As manufacturers understandably err on the side of caution, this results in a lot of heat energy being put into canned produce, often resulting in a slightly burnt, canned taste, particularly in dairy produce, creamy sauces or other items high in sugars. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6rxd04ttwjw4pr3z8zshzs) ### q5 botulism had a huge impact on the food industry > Clostridium Botulinum shapes our modern food system. It is why canned foods have a burnt, metallic taste and jarred sauces can sometimes have a harsh acidic note, particularly creamy sauces that are not naturally acidic. It is why you will rarely buy a good quality ambient cheese or bechamel sauce and why delicate aromatic notes are often lost in canned foods. The same bacteria are also responsible for the addition of nitrites to processed meats, as a combination of nitrites and salt inhibit growth, also giving bacon and ham their distinctive metallic tang and pink colour. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6s1gx7wz8j1emm656kzmdm) ### q6 Botox is botulism microdose > It is certainly not impossible to produce botulinum toxin on an industrial scale, but it was not until the late 1960s that Ed Schantz, a chemist who had worked on purifying the toxin at a US military research institute, was asked by an ophthalmologist Alan Scott if he could supply a sample. Scott wanted to see if the unusual flaccid paralysis effects could be harnessed medically, just as Kerner had suggested years before. He used tiny, injected doses to help alleviate the symptoms of patients with crossed eyes or twitching eyelids and found it to be incredibly effective. In 1989, purified botulinum toxin was approved as a drug under the brand name Oculinum. Scott’s company was purchased by pharmaceutical manufacturer Allergan in 1991, who renamed the drug Botox. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6s8syb95gy2d2zxpe8mtjv) ### q7 Botox's cosmetic uses were an accidental find > Throughout the 1990s, several potential uses emerged, and Botox is currently licenced as a treatment for muscle spasms, overactive bladders, cerebral palsy and migraines. But it was a chance discovery by a couple of Canadian doctors that was to turn it from a useful muscle relaxant into a blockbuster drug. Jean Carruthers, a Vancouver based ophthalmologist, was using Botox to treat eye spasms, and was surprised when her patient complained about the injection not being administered into her forehead as usual, saying that she enjoyed the smooth skin and young expression it gave her. At the time, Jean’s dermatologist husband Alastair was looking for ways to help patients with frown lines, and the couple teamed up to offer Botox as a cosmetic treatment for the first time. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6sa5ej6j1fe6znztnk989c) ### q8 Botox appearance became fashionable > In small doses, the same nerve damage that causes fatal paralysis in poisoning cases, helps to remove forehead creases and crow’s feet, with the only side effects being an inability to express emotion using your face, and an occasional case of drooping eyelids. A distinctive wrinkle-free and slightly startled look became fashionable among the Hollywood A-List, and eventually across the world. It is of course deeply ironic that many celebrities who publicly advocated a clean living, chemical-free lifestyle, were also early adopters of a treatment that involves injecting the deadliest substance on earth into your face (looking at you, Paltrow). If any of them were surprised at this seeming paradox, they certainly didn’t show it. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6sdx7rpc36azfnm4ps6qs1) ### q9 pure Botox is the most valuable substance on earth per gram > As Botox grew more accessible, it rapidly became the most common cosmetic medical procedure in the world. In 2017, over seven million faces were injected with it, an increase of 800% from the turn of the millennium, generating $2.3 billion in annual sales. Not content with being the deadliest substance on earth, it is likely that the pure crystalline form of Botulinum toxin is now also the most valuable, with an estimated street value of $100 trillion per kilogram. The entire global face paralysing industry is supported by an annual production of just a few milligrams - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6sgagqqnarqez2ftzbzv1s) ### q10 botulism had a widespread impact on modern history > On the list of microbes that have shaped humanity, Clostridium Botulinum would have to sit fairly high, hugely impacting our modern food system, tantalising bioterrorists, and creating a multi-billion-dollar industry. Botulism toxin affects us all, shaping the flavour, distribution, storage and packaging of the food we eat. The fact that we rarely have to think about it, is testament to the extraordinary, dedicated work of thousands of food industry professionals around the world, who help create the safe, effective food system we enjoy today. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fn6sg17qmgdgys2wtn4cknvk)