I think it's important to distinguish between "human botulism" and "infant botulism"...they are quite different.
Botulism poising of adults is generally from the toxins that botulism produces outside the body (most commonly in improperly canned goods, I believe).

In infant botulism poisoning, the spores germinate in the gut of the infant before the stomach is acidic enough to prevent this from happening (in the same way that one can't inoculate adults orally with some of the important gut microbes unless the stomach acids are bypassed with a tube)...essentially, the infants gut acts like the can.
I know of at least one case among people we know, and it is mostly attributed to spores that come from the soil.  Not common (about 100 cases a year in the US according to wikipedia).

It isn't clear to me that bleach will destroy the spores (it will kill any live culture).  Certainly you don't want live cultures around (they produce spores).

IMHO, sanitary is good...but oversanitization isn't without problems.

Colonoscopies are often performed in a clean place, but not "operating room clean".  The answer for this that we got from one doctor that performs them regularly is that they don't want to leave wide open niches for bacteria to grow in....if the room is contantly sterilized, there is nothing "holding down the fort" to keep other microbial cultures (like those come from the bowels) from taking hold.  

It's not unlike a the recent news about "sharpie parties" where empty foerclosed homes are made the target for a graffiti party (invites via social media), which often get more destructive than drawing on the walls....if anyone (even an otherwise undesirable tenant) was living in the house, it would not be a target for such destruction.

Sterile environments with wide open niches (combined with antibiotics) are where MRSA developed.

These are not simple, straightforward protocalls.  We maintain a certified wholesale food facility for our honey bottling and for producing our honey (only) sweetened chocolate.  We keep things clean and up to code (inspected by the city and the state regularly), but I'm not sure disinfecting all surfaces with bleach all the time is helpful...and I'm not sure what harm it might or might not do.

We've noted that name brand cheddar (mass produced from pasturized milk and sealed in plastic) turns moldy in the fridge in fairly short order...yet casually handled cheese made from raw milk can last 6 months or more without mold.

It's also worth noting that raw milk (when left to its own devices) sours into buttermilk...useful, nutritious and delicious.  Milk that has been pasturized, on the other hand, is not something you want to eat or use after it sours.

Don't get me wrong...clean is good, really clean is even better, but there are downsides for total sterilization....simply because there is no such thing over time....there are always microbes ready to colonize anywhere there is food for them available...and there is almost always something.  Again...don't misread me...keep things clean and keep the "microbial food" to a mininum.  Fortunately, honey tends to take care of itself.

deknow

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