NYC XYZ > wrote:
> Nancy2 wrote:
>>
>> You're nutz. I wouldn't touch refrigerated chicken after 4 days, let
>> alone 8 without. I hope you don't get sick.
>>
>> Peanut butter and jelly should be fine (I never refrigerate p.
>> butter, anyway, and jelly is mostly sugar). Everything else on your
>> list I would toss without a second glance. You shouldn't need food
>> science to tell you that you shouldn't eat that stuff - it can taste
>> alright and smell alright and kill you - as in botulism. No,
>> cooking won't destroy all the bad stuff.
>>
>> N.
>
>
> I'm fine, no problem at all! But I've tossed everything out except
> the peanut butter and jams. I'm not afraid, but ConEd (the local
> utility company) is waiving its usual requirement of itemized lists
> and proofs of purchase for customer reimbursement of spoiled food, so
> I guess I'd feel a bit guilty claiming money while chomping away....

> I'm still curious about the science of food spoilage.
> Just why can't these germs be killed?

Some can, some produce toxins that arent practical to get rid of,
most obviously with many moulds. If for example you let bread or
cheese go mouldy, there isnt any practical way to get rid of that.

> Why couldn't any chemical (toxic) changes
> they introduce to the food be neutralized?

Its not practical with some food. Much simpler to discard it.

> I mean, just how do they do it when recycling water?

Water is a lot easier to treat than some other stuff.

> Is food just much too complicated by comparison?

Yes, that's the general idea. Quite a bit of decay isnt
reversible and thats completely different to water.

> And how come animals in the wild don't get sick eating rotting corpses??

They have evolved with digestive systems that can handle that.

But it isnt always perfect, there are some diseases that do get
caught by animals like lions when what they eat carrys those diseases.

And modern food systems can produce dangerous
organisms that you just dont see in wild animal food too.