The answer is heat. Heat is an effective and safe method to help reduce pathogenic contaminants in food.
EXPLANATION
Pathogens in food are mainly bacterias, parasites, and viruses that contaminate food. Foodborne pathogens are the cause of food poisoning and major diseases. Foodborne pathogens caused more than 2 million infections on people each year. This is a higher number than salmonella poisoning, it only caused 1 million cases of food poisoning. This is a shock because salmonella can easily be found in a lot of food, such as meat, eggs, and poultry.
Proper food storage and handling can avoid most foodborne illness. Certain conditions must be present for pathogens to grow in food. Potential harmful bacteria that may be present in unprepared and raw food can’t multiply, grow, and survive if the environment and conditions are controlled. Therefore, eating that food will not cause illness. One of the ways to prevent pathogen foodborne is by using heat. Food that’s heated above 140° Fahrenheit or 60° Celcius will destroy pathogens.
Six factors may affect bacterial growth. The first is food, which is the requirement for bacteria to survive. The second one is acid. Bacteria will not grow in an acidic environment. The third one is temperature. Bacteria will grow between 4°C and 60°C (40°F and 140°F). The fourth one is time. Bacteria will need time to multiply. The fifth is oxygen, some bacterias require oxygen to grow. And the last one is moisture, bacterias will grow in moist foods.
LEARN MORE
If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend you to also take a look at the following questions:
When can we contaminate food: brainly.com/question/12691614
Cross-contamination: brainly.com/question/6007511
Keyword: pathogens, contaminants in food, living organism
Subject: Health
Class: 7-9
Subchapter: Food contamination