Atlas Mason aka Classico sauce jars

For years (decades, perhaps?) my mom and I have saved the Atlas Mason jars that Classico spaghetti sauce comes in. We've used them in home canning without a problem.

Until today.

I was water-bath canning tomatoes and I had not one but TWO of my newer Classico/Atlas Mason jars break the in the water. I've never had this happen before, much less with two jars on the same day (and of the same type no less!).

Is this a coincidence, or should I stop using those jars for canning. Does anyone else reuse Classico sauce jars?

Those are commercial "one trip" jars, meant to be thrown away. They were never home canning jars. The sealing surface on them is more rounded,not as flat, so not as large of a sealing area. Plus, they are not the same glass.
Some do use them for water bath canning, but should never be put into a pressure canner.
I don't waste my time and money on them. I would rather use a regular jar meant for canning so less chance of the jars not sealing or breaking.
Sorry that happened.

that is such a bummer. I have been using them for years, but I guess they will have to be kept just for dry good storage now.

It's unfortunate that happened. But, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

My mother has been canning in jars from mayo and some sauce jars. I have been trying to get her to stop using them but she never listens. I do have a few but I only can tomato juice in them. As I buy new jars I weed out all the "non" canning types.

I hope that you do the same and have a happy canning season.

I assumed that because they say "Atlas Mason" on them that they were canning jars. I would never can with a regular mayo or other sauce jar because I know how unsafe they can be.

I save and use the Classico jars all the time- they're a middles size that I have never seen for purchase, and I do my dill pickles in them( which includes a water bath). Maybe the jars had a hair line crack in them that you didn't notice? I would continue to use them- I think they seal perfectly .

Fwiw, the vast majority of my canning jars are mayonnaise, Classico, etc. jars. I've been canning in them for years...and my mom did so for years before that.

There are times jars will break...it happens. It's a bummer that two broke on the same day...nothing like watching all that hard work go down the drain. But it doesn't necessarily mean you can't use those jars anymore.

I've also had "OFFICIAL" canning jars (Ball, Kerr, Atlas, etc.) jars break before. It's simply a matter of a weakness in the glass being brought to the fore by the hot/boiling water. Examining all of your jars carefully for any kinds of chips, cracks, hairline fractures, etc. before canning helps minimize the breakage...and the chances that your jars won't seal.

Also, make sure that the jars will snugly take a Ball/Kerr/etc. lid and ring. Always use a new lid when canning (I reuse the rings); don't reuse the lid it came with.

Yes, there are those that will cry "foul" over the advice I'm giving you...but it's stood me in good stead for many years of canning.

Oh, yeah...and nobody's died, yet.

Perhaps no one you know has died, but other people have, by eating improperly processed foods. Fewer people sicken now because of the research and education that have gone into food preservation techniques.
Those jars are just a marketing tool to give the consumer a feeling that they are buying a product that compares to homemade. If they put the same stuff in a plain jar they would not sell as much and we would not pay as much. It becomes obvious these are not suitable for canning when you compare them side by side with a real canning jar.

Do you have proven statistics to back this up?

For what it's worth, I use the Classico jars all the time for canning. The lids and rings fit perfectly, never have a sealing problem, and yes, I know for a fact, no one has ever died, or even gotten sick from any of my canning efforts.

JQ

How about the US Department of Health/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention? They estimate that 76 million Americans get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 people die from foodborne illnesses each year.

The problems with using those one-trip jars, as Violet #2 pointed out, is that the lids will not seat properly, the necks are too short, and the seal may not hold. Botulism will not grow in this environment, but there are plenty of other microbes that will. If nothing else you do run the risk of lots of time, effort, and hard work being tossed in the trash.

And some figures for those who choose to ignore the recommendations for safe canning practices to prevent botulism (I repeat, botulism does not grow in an oxygen environment)?

"In the United States, an average of 145 cases are reported each year. Of these, approximately 15% are foodborne, 65% are infant botulism, and 20% are wound. Adult intestinal colonization and iatrogenic botulism also occur, but rarely. Outbreaks of foodborne botulism involving two or more persons occur most years and usually caused by eating contaminated home-canned foods. "

No, this is not a huge number, only 20 to 25 people, but that relatively low number is because of education efforts on food safety. Not a huge number, but if you, your friend, or a family member are one of that number, things begin to look very different indeed. And if we who are feeding other people will just use the information available to us to employ simple, painless techniques to control the known risk factors, those 20 to 25 cases a year would not even exist!

Yes, I happen to be one who does know of those who died. One person in my family, so you are right, it does look very different from this side of it.
Thank you for understanding.
(Oh, it was not my canning, but the person who made the food.)
Truly,
Violet

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To what question or topic are you refering to?? So I may answer??

I understand that my using mayo, etc. jars flies in the face of recommendations...but years (and years...and years!) of experience have taught me that using these jars are just as safe as canning jars. Any vulnerability, in my experience, lies in whether or not there is a weakness in the jar itself. That is true for both canning jars and mayo/etc. jars. I've had a few jars break over the years (not many)...with neither standing out as the leader. But when you can 60+ jars of food in one session...the odds are you may get a breaker. It happens.

I won't say that I don't agree with you in certain areas re. some canning recipes and practices used. There are areas in which I do agree. I have some very strong opinions about canning safety practices...particularly low-acid foods. I've been canning for close to 40 years, starting when I was a kid with my mom. I'm just as comfortable with a pressure-canner as I am with a boiling water bath canner.

But imo, your preponderance of doom & gloom, even over a matter as simple as canning jars...will do nothing but drive interested/beginning canners away. Whether intended or not, it comes across as a scare tactic...to the point that soon, folks won't bother listening to you even when you do have a valid point.

Which will be too bad. Because sometimes you hit right on the mark.

Well said. I do agree. I get so very tired of the gloom and doom also.....I practice very safe canning, I know what I am doing. For pete's sake, I am a nurse. Canning is suppose to be fun, we are canning because we want to know what our families are putting in their mouths. Many new canners have came to canning, which used to be a fun forum, then left immediately, because they just get scared to even try. No one, and I MEAN NO ONE, should ever be afraid of canning, especially things like jellies and jams, but even that has gotten to where it is a debate. I just simply do not understand the purpose of it all.

JQ