Hi Kellie,

the publication has been removed from circulation temporarily because, though the "brothy" soup and "hearty" soup guidelines were based on tested guidelines from the National Center for Home Food Preservation, there was concern that a few of the associated recipes did not follow the guidelines closely enough, or were not clear enough, to be confirmed as safe as well.

Let me know which directions you followed, either the general Hearty Soup guidelines or a specific recipe, and I can let you know if there are any concerns. If there are concerns, I can also tell you how to safely prepare the food for consumption, or how to safely dispose of it.

Sarah

My apologies, Kellie! Travel and teaching got in the way of my attention to Ask Extension. So sorry for this delay, and I ask for your continued patience as we complete our review of the publication.

In the meantime, do keep those jars of soup on your shelf. Guidelines from food scientists I work with are that if a jar of home canned, low acid foods is “questionable,” (meaning it is unknown if it was processed correctly) but has no visible or smelled signs of spoilage, it should be brought to a full boil for 5 minutes before eating for ensured safety. This level and time of heating the food after removing it from the jar will eliminate any toxins, should they be present.

I will leave this Ask Extension question open, so that I can return to it when we have a more complete answer. Feel free to check in periodically if you haven’t heard from me.

Thanks again for your patience  

Hello Kellie,

thanks for checking back in. The publication has not been revised yet.

In the meantime, these are the NCHFP tested recipes you should follow (and from which the recipes in the publication were developed):

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-vegetables-and-vegetable-products/soups/

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/canning-vegetables-and-vegetable-products/mixed-vegetables/

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/preparing-and-canning-poultry-red-meats-and-seafoods/meat-ground-or-chopped/

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/preparing-and-canning-poultry-red-meats-and-seafoods/chicken-or-rabbit/

https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can/preparing-and-canning-poultry-red-meats-and-seafoods/fish-pint-jars-usda/

I am still awaiting a response from our stateʼs (very busy) food lab regarding some of the details in some of the hearty soups recipes in the publication, but in the past they have confirmed that "questionable" pressure canned food that has no signs of spoilage upon opening (mold, odor, slime) can be reheated to boiling for at least 5 minutes prior to consuming, to ensure the foodʼs safety.

Thanks for your patience,

Sarah

Hi Kellie,

though I donʼt have answers yet about any specific revisions needed to recipes in the publication, I did hear back from an advising food scientist today that it is safe to follow the general Hearty Soup guidelines in the publication. Those guidelines allow meat or poultry to be added to the Mixed Vegetables canning directions. Our advisor said this is acceptable because the Mixed Vegetables canning time is equal to or longer than that required for meat or poultry on their own.

Iʼll continue to keep this question string open so I can get back to you when the publication review is complete. Feel free to check back any time.

Sarah