Boiling kills germs and Bacteria but there Dead bodies are still there right? So isn’t that harmful as well?
In: Biology
Depends. Yes the dead bacteria and microbes are there. As to whether it’s dangerous or not depends on the amount and concentration. In food service we have to be careful about contamination and leaving foods out too long for just this reason.
Germs are everywhere. Your mouth is covered in them right this very moment, and every time you swallow, you’re taking millions of them into your stomach.
Dead bacteria aren’t dangerous any more than most live ones are. They’re ultimately made of the same bits and pieces as other living things are, and those get broken down and processed just as well.
However, some microbes create toxins as a byproduct of their metabolism, and boiling doesn’t get rid of those. Hence why you can’t un-spoil food by cooking it thoroughly, as the toxins are still there even if the producing bacteria are all dead.
You do know how small bacteria is right? They don’t leave a corpse, they break down into compounds. They pretty much disintegrate.
As someone mentioned these compounds are one reason why the bacteria is a problem. It’s why we call it food poisoning rather than an infection.
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