"C. botulinum" was first recognized and isolated in 1895 by Emile van Ermengem from home-cured ham implicated in a botulism outbreak. The isolate was originally named "Bacillus botulinus", after the Latin word for sausage, "botulus". ("Sausage poisoning" was a common problem in 18th- and 19th-century Germany, and was most likely caused by botulism.) However, isolates from subsequent outbreaks were always found to be anaerobic spore formers, so Ida A. Bengtson proposed that the organism be placed into the genus "Clostridium", as the genus "Bacillus" was restricted to aerobic spore-forming rods.