Hi all,

This may be a strange request, but here goes: My mother-in-law ate a
dinner recently where she ate some old ham and drank one glass of old
wine. The ham was about 5 days old (sat out unrefrigerated for at
least an entire day during Easter), and the wine had been opened at
least a year earlier. I'm not sure of the type of wine it was, but it
was probably a white wine and she told me it was organic (expressly
without sulfites). I'm not sure if the wine was refrigerated or not.

Soon after she ate this meal, she had severe diarrhea (involving
hemorrhaging) and was sick for days. She swears that the poisoning
came from the wine, but I believe that spoiled wine becomes acidic,
which is self-stabilizing. The fact that she actually drank the entire
glass of wine tells me that the wine must not have tasted too bad.

So I ask you, can old wine cause severe food poisoning such as the
type that she suffered?

Thanks,

-Trent

Trent,
I eat/drink old, spoiled vine every day! Its called wine vinegar. Her
sickness is most likely called food poisoning from the old, dead, fermenting
pig called leftover ham. I believe that food poisoning can be "felt" as
quickly as 15 minutes after ingesting the bacteria.
On another note, any leftover (spoiled) wine that you don't want to drink
can be dumped into a container to be made into vinegar, assuming that you
have the vinegar culture (mother).
Al
"Trent Moorehead" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi all,
>
> This may be a strange request, but here goes: My mother-in-law ate a
> dinner recently where she ate some old ham and drank one glass of old
> wine. The ham was about 5 days old (sat out unrefrigerated for at
> least an entire day during Easter), and the wine had been opened at
> least a year earlier. I'm not sure of the type of wine it was, but it
> was probably a white wine and she told me it was organic (expressly
> without sulfites). I'm not sure if the wine was refrigerated or not.
>
> Soon after she ate this meal, she had severe diarrhea (involving
> hemorrhaging) and was sick for days. She swears that the poisoning
> came from the wine, but I believe that spoiled wine becomes acidic,
> which is self-stabilizing. The fact that she actually drank the entire
> glass of wine tells me that the wine must not have tasted too bad.
>
> So I ask you, can old wine cause severe food poisoning such as the
> type that she suffered?
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Trent

"Trent Moorehead" > wrote in message
om...
> So I ask you, can old wine cause severe food poisoning such as the
> type that she suffered?

No. Wine does not support the growth of pathogens because it is too acidic.
The ham is probably what did her in.

Tom S

I agree, the ham is the problem - it shouldn't sit out that long.
Darlene

"Trent Moorehead" > wrote in message
om...
> Hi all,
>
> This may be a strange request, but here goes: My mother-in-law ate a
> dinner recently where she ate some old ham and drank one glass of old
> wine. The ham was about 5 days old (sat out unrefrigerated for at
> least an entire day during Easter), and the wine had been opened at
> least a year earlier. I'm not sure of the type of wine it was, but it
> was probably a white wine and she told me it was organic (expressly
> without sulfites). I'm not sure if the wine was refrigerated or not.
>
> Soon after she ate this meal, she had severe diarrhea (involving
> hemorrhaging) and was sick for days. She swears that the poisoning
> came from the wine, but I believe that spoiled wine becomes acidic,
> which is self-stabilizing. The fact that she actually drank the entire
> glass of wine tells me that the wine must not have tasted too bad.
>
> So I ask you, can old wine cause severe food poisoning such as the
> type that she suffered?
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Trent

(Trent Moorehead) wrote in message . com>...
> Hi all,
>
> This may be a strange request, but here goes: My mother-in-law ate a
> dinner recently where she ate some old ham and drank one glass of old
> wine.

Thanks everyone for your quick and succinct responses. You have
confirmed my suspicions.

-Trent

Incidentally, I understand that wine - particularly white wine - helps to
prevent food poisoning. IIRC, the alcohol in the wine supposedly softens the
bacteria cell walls and the acidity is what actually kills 'em (which is why
white is better than red). Just another reason to drink a glass of wine with
your meals. And you know... if one is good then three must be way good. Of
course as your mother's example shows, even if this is the case it does not
offer complete protection.





"Trent Moorehead" > wrote in message
om...
> (Trent Moorehead) wrote in message
. com>...
> > Hi all,
> >
> > This may be a strange request, but here goes: My mother-in-law ate a
> > dinner recently where she ate some old ham and drank one glass of old
> > wine.
>
> Thanks everyone for your quick and succinct responses. You have
> confirmed my suspicions.
>
> -Trent

What this suggests is that you should order wine with your meal in the
greasy spoon and it does not really mater as much in the good restaurant.

Ray

"Gabriel" > wrote in message
...
> Incidentally, I understand that wine - particularly white wine - helps to
> prevent food poisoning. IIRC, the alcohol in the wine supposedly softens
the
> bacteria cell walls and the acidity is what actually kills 'em (which is
why
> white is better than red). Just another reason to drink a glass of wine
with
> your meals. And you know... if one is good then three must be way good. Of
> course as your mother's example shows, even if this is the case it does
not
> offer complete protection.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Trent Moorehead" > wrote in message
> om...
> > (Trent Moorehead) wrote in message
> . com>...
> > > Hi all,
> > >
> > > This may be a strange request, but here goes: My mother-in-law ate a
> > > dinner recently where she ate some old ham and drank one glass of old
> > > wine.
> >
> > Thanks everyone for your quick and succinct responses. You have
> > confirmed my suspicions.
> >
> > -Trent
>
>