Botulism is a very serious illness but luckily, quite rare. Botulism is caused by a toxin which can attack the body’s nerves. This attack can then cause difficulty when breathing, muscle paralysis and can even be fatal. The toxin that causes Botulism is called Clostridium botulinum and is a certain type of bacteria. It is possible to get botulism from sun dried tomatoes that are in oil, but only if the tomatoes and oil have not been prepared properly. The reason for this is that they fit in the low acid food group. Botulism bacteria can grow rapidly in moist, oxygen-free environments. It is possible that botulism bacteria can grow rapidly on vegetables that have not been stored properly, as the conditions will be ideal for the bacteria to spread and produce the nasty toxin. Always make sure that your sun dried tomatoes that are in oil are stored properly, in an airtight container.