Hello, I am part of a canning group and recently someone shared that the ISU Extension is no longer recommending the use of canning recipes from Ball. Bellow is the text of the email: Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach no longer recommends the use of any of the Ball canning books. This is true for both Iowa 4-H and consumer food preservation. The decision about the reliability of the Ball recipes was derived after careful consideration. The first Ball Blue Book was issued in 1909 and over decades served as a “go to” food preservation resource. For many years the Ball Company followed USDA guidelines and beginning in 1976 scientifically tested their recipes and procedures in the company’s test kitchen. Over the last 20 years or so, Ball has experienced many changes in ownership. While the Ball name has been retained, the newer publications have trended toward more “gourmet” recipes which raised concerns about food safety by food safety experts. These concerns included: 1.) not providing testing analysis and data when asked for by food safety experts to verify the safety of the finished product; 2.) the lack of precise measurements provided in many recipes while at the same time cautioning that precise measurement is important to prevent food borne illness; 3.) using unnatural amounts of sugar and salt in the recipes; 4.) wordy explanations, mistakes, and missing information." I am curious to know what the MSU extension feels about the safety of Ball's recipes and if the MSU extension does not feel that the recipes are safe, if there is a different canning recipe publisher that they would recommend instead. Thank you for your time, Samson Kolka - Bay County