El was right.

After checking the story - I realised ElRazur is incorrect, well not quite!

The story is about 'sterilize' sponges, not food! The whole point of it is that you can use microwave to sterilize sponges and also it only takes 2 minutes which is convenience. Oven can't be used as it would burn sponges.

For food, if you put food in oven which is preheated to 180 C and if it is fully heated then like microwave, 'all' germs would be killed because it is in oven for much longer than 2 minutes.

Food tastes nicer from oven than microwave so you're owed! :p
 
The microwave probably could kill germs in food - but you would need to make sure the food is thoroughly heated to a high enough tempurature all over.

It's fairly easy to do with a sponge which will have little mass, but i'm not sure how easy it would be with food (if memory serves it would need to reach about 60-80c+ throughout to kill most germs).
 
If a microwave isn't safe to kill germs then how is it safe to cook raw chicken in the microwave (which countless recipes and cooking instructions on packets advise)? Things that are undercooked and not properly heated are the problem - not the method in which they are cooked.
 
Chingoo said:
So not ALL germs/bacteria is killed as <1% is still alive and kicking, i'd hazard a guess that this 1% of bacteria is probably the type to do most damage as well?!!? If it can withstand 2 minutes of radiation then it's some hardcore badass bacteria :eek:
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Why would the ability to withstand higher temperatures influence the virulence of a bacterial strain in humans?!? By it's very nature, it would more than lightly be quickly outcompeted by anything better adapted to body temperatures.

From my knowledge, there are very few microbes that could withstand temperatures anywhere near as high as a microwave can heat things. Strain 121 would be one, but technically, that's not bacteria and you sure wouldn't find it growing on pizza. The majority of viruses would become inactive in the 75-90C range.

El is completely correct imo.

Saying all that, though, I would quite happily eat 'last night's pizza' for breakfast without heating it. That's what stomach acid is for tbh ;)
 
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If a microwave is a completely brilliant way to sterilize things then why are sterilizers in hospitals basically giant ovens?

fini
 
fini said:
If a microwave is a completely brilliant way to sterilize things then why are sterilizers in hospitals basically giant ovens?

fini
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It's easier to monitor temperature in a system that heats the air around objects (like an oven) than it is to monitor that of a microwave. You'd have to have actual probes stuck on each item.

Also you can't microwave metallic objects.
 
bah microwaves are for wimps I tend to eat last nights takeaway food cold ;) boosts your immune system don't you know :p

p.s I have never had food poisoning 22.9 years and counting ;)
 
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