Q: Are recipes for “canned” pumpkin or applesauce bread safe to use?

A: No, canned breads and cakes are not recommended even though you may be tempted to do so for gift-giving.

First of all, the bread or cake is not really home-canned. It is baked in an open glass canning jar and then covered with a canning lid; there is no further canning process given to the product.

Research at Kansas State University showed that heat-stable microorganisms can survive the baking process and multiply in the breads during storage. Many cake and quick bread recipes contain very little or no acid and thus have the potential for supporting the growth of hazardous bacteria, such as Clostridium botulinum, if they are present inside the closed jar. C. botulinum causes an often fatal foodborne illness, called botulism.

Nevertheless, recipes for home-canned breads and cakes do continue to be available. They appear occasionally in major newspapers, in books, on television and on the Web. Availability is not a guarantee that the finished product is safe, however. Recipes also appear in some older canning jar company booklets. However, canning jar manufacturers do not currently endorse baking in their canning jars.

They would not be liable for any damage or illness that occurs from a non-recommended use of their jars.

Commercial breads and cakes in sealed glass canning jars can often be found for sale at fairs and craft shows. This should not be taken to mean that the consumer can duplicate the product at home safely. When breads and cakes in jars are made for sale commercially by reputable companies, additives, preservatives and processing controls not available for home recipes are used. Safety tests would have been conducted for each specific recipe for commercial products. It is possible that homemade products may also appear for sale. Do not purchase canned breads and cakes in glass jars unless they contain additives to prevent microbial growth and meet all labeling requirements for commercial foods.