The same goes for other types of foods like eggs.
If cooking food kills the bacteria why does it matter if you leave the food out for too long?
Im not talking about things like completely rotten meat, but my concept of cooking is that basically 99% of the bacteria in food is killed if you cook it to be “well-done”.
So if the bacteria is dead, then why can you still contract foodborne illnesses from it?
In: Biology
bacteria can be small enough to be carried by the air, or on dust.
If you kill all the bacteria and seal it so no more can get in, you can preserve food long term, this is how canning works
eggs are a bit more complicated, in theory they should be sterile inside, but moisture can make the shell more permeable. Also possible for salmonella to get into the egg while it’s forming, if the chicken is infected.
Some bacteria poop poison. Cooking kills them, but doesn’t do anything to the poison already there. If they’ve been in your food alive & pooping for too long, then the poison alone can make you sick.
because cooking it only kills the bacteria that were on/in it before hand.
it doesn’t kill bacteria that contact the food item afterwards.
if you let food sit too long, it accumulates more bacteria
Cooking may have cooked most of the bacteria in the food initially, but some may have survived. Now in most cases its not the bacteria themselves but their toxic byproducts that make you sick. So even if a small percentage of bacteria survive, the problem with food bacteria is if left undisturbed at room temperature for even just several hours or a day or so, they can explode population wise and generate enough toxic byproducts to make you sick.
Likewise, after you cooked the food, if it was left uncovered at all, there is the chance of introducing airborne bacteria. There’s no escaping it. Its everywhere. In high school youll have one experiment when you take a petri-dish of agar (sugar food for bacteria) and just expose it to air, or scratch your head over it, or touch ith with your fingers. Even in just a few days the # of bacteria that will develop will blow your mind.
Your only chance is perfectly (and to foodies this means “over”) cooking it for long after internal temperatures reach guidelines and then to immediately vaccum seal it… or better yet sous-vide that sucker still in the plastic.
* The kind of bacteria that can make you sick is always in the air in small amounts.
* Any food left out at room temperature for too long can collect this bacteria and give it a place to grow to a point where it can make you sick.
* This is why it’s important to cover food that isn’t going to be eaten in the very near future, even when it’s in the refrigerator.
No expert by any means, but I had coincidentally googled this recently. The layman’s version that I understood: You’re on the right track. Cooking/microwaving food that has been out for too long kills the bacteria, but does not always kill/remove anything left behind by the bacteria.
Some food bacteria produce heat-resistant toxins that are left behind even after the bacteria itself has been cooked away. This is what causes food poisoning even after microwaving/cooking food that has been left out. Apparently you’re not 100% guaranteed to get toxins if you leave food out, but it’s usually best to toss the food if you’re unsure.
Latest Answers