COLUMBIA, S.C. — An online claim says eating an old baked potato can give you a serious type of food poisoning called botulism. But can it? We sought to verify.
Our sources are Dr. Jill Michels, the director of the Palmetto Poison Center, and officials from the Food and Drug Administration.
A spokesperson from the FDA says the claims online come from an outbreak in Texas back in 1997 when a restaurant made a baked potato dip. They say 17 people were sick with botulism poisoning.
The FDA says the potatoes were cooked and then left wrapped in tin foil at room temperature for days.
Dr. Michels says botulism is a common type of bacteria. "Botulism is a bacteria and its found in a lot of places," says Michels. "It's found in the soil . It's found in air. it's found in water so yes, it's also found on the outside of baked potatoes."
Michels continued and said, "with the right conditions that bacteria can grow, when you wrap a cooked potato in foil or Saran Wrap it decreases the oxygen around the potato, and if they are left at room temperature then the toxin can grow, and cause illness when people when people eat it.
Dr. Michels says the symptoms of botulism are serious, and it can cause paralysis. "People may complain of blurry vision, they may have trouble speaking, they may have slurry speech. and trouble swallowing," she says. "The concern is if it goes into your muscles that help you breathe in your lungs, you have trouble breathing."
Both the FDA and Dr. Michels said cooked potatoes need to go back into the refrigerator one hour after cooking and don't store it in airtight foil or plastic wrap. When reheating leftovers, be sure they reach 165° degrees Fahrenheit.
So we can verify, yes, eating an old baked potato could potentially cause food poisoning known as botulism.