Any risk of food poisoning when soaking beans on the counter instead of the frig? Some food toxins nonstops not killed by high high heat..Botulism, st

I always soak at room temp overnight (or for a few hours next day). Have been doing it for years. I've never heard of botulism being a problem with dried beans. I always rinse very well before soaking. But I don't cook in a slowcooker. I cook either on stovetop or in the Instant Pot.

I've never heard of botulism or any other type of food poisoning arising in beans that are soaked on a counter at room temperature; although some contributor on this site did raise an issue once about how beans could begin to ferment if left to soak on the counter for a long enough time. (That gave me some pause, and made me more careful of how long I left the beans to soak.)

I have been soaking beans at room temperature on a kitchen counter, with only a towel over the container, as long as I have been cooking dried beans -- for years -- and have never had a problem with contaminated beans. Neither the Bean Institute nor the U.S. Dry Bean Council doesn't mention food poisoning either as a hazard of soaking, that I can find.

If you are not comfortable with soaking beans at room temperature for several hours, here is a link that gives several different ways to soak beans: https://beaninstitute.com/the-traditional-four-step-method/#BeanSoakingMethods