Hi all,

I've been eating some high meat on occasion since November.  I started it back then by filling pint jars about half way with marble sized pieces of meat.  I was airing it every 3 days or so but I've been traveling and kind of lost track of it, so it's been a week or two since airing it.  I aired it last night....but then got thinking about if it is OK or not.  I have heard people warn about botulism, but mostly when it was in plastic or didn't have any air.  I'm kind of thinking that I'll be fine but wanted to check with you to see what you think.  I'm just taking one small piece at a time so I'm not going to have big issues if it's bad right?  I mean, with one small piece I'd have the runs and know to throw it out after that before eating more right?  Or can it be so bad after just one small piece that one could die?  I've never had any issues at all so far - not even a belly ache.  It just made me feel good....and like bacteria was entering my body and clearing my sinuses and making my digestion better.

What are your thoughts regarding this?

Also - I was thinking, when traditional people buried meats, there was no airing....so why is this necessary?  My take on it after reading AV's book was that airing just improves the fermentation but I don't remember him saying that it could go bad.  I could be wrong about that.  Which is why I'm checking here.

Thanks for your help!