Why does it matter if you eat moldy food?
Discussion
A question I always wanted to ask. This applies to under cooked chicken, cross contaminated hot/cold food etc. Basically anything biological we eat that we consider unsuitable/'off'.
The stomach is basically a bag of acid to break down food so why are we affected by the things above if they are simply dissolved anyway?
The stomach is basically a bag of acid to break down food so why are we affected by the things above if they are simply dissolved anyway?
Rollin said:
Some survive stomach acid. Some produce toxins which are unaffected.
This basically. Undercooked food tends to present a problem with bacterial contamination, many of which can survive conditions in the stomach quite easily. "Off" food tends to have toxins from moulds present which range from a bit unpleasant to lethal depending on the mould in question and the amount present. Many toxins are also unaffected by stomach acid and by cooking too.Flibble said:
Many toxins are also unaffected by stomach acid and by cooking too.
Yup. e.g. the "don't reheat rice" advice is because although the bacteria would be killed by reheating, any existing toxin would not be destroyed. Of course in practice you would almost always be okay, but you could say the same for eating random mushrooms in the woods...Mould is often okay, it's the stuff you cannot seem generally bacteria, that is likely to make you ill. Targeting different parts of the stomach/immune system is all. It's all about having the right defences too. E.Coli is bad for most, but if you've spent 6 months in a lab working with it you e probably built up some immunity.....
bint said:
Mould is often okay, it's the stuff you cannot seem generally bacteria, that is likely to make you ill. Targeting different parts of the stomach/immune system is all. It's all about having the right defences too. E.Coli is bad for most, but if you've spent 6 months in a lab working with it you e probably built up some immunity.....
If you're working in a lab you should have no exposure to it, unless it's a dodgy lab! there are a lot of procedures to prevent lab workers being exposed to harmful diseases.Flibble said:
If you're working in a lab you should have no exposure to it, unless it's a dodgy lab! there are a lot of procedures to prevent lab workers being exposed to harmful diseases.
I was thinking that too. I can't imagine the lab technicians developing an immunity to let's say, Ebola after some casual infection! 
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