eli5 do things and products you buy from stores have germs on them. Even stuff that’s inside a box?
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Yep.
To expand on that yep, unless explicitly sterile like medical supplies or scientific instruments there’s likely some degree of microbial life on it. Benign amounts where it’s harmless and ineffectual to a person.
There’s even allowances for certain amounts of bug parts and rodent hair allowed in food and still considered safe.
There are microorganisms everywhere, all over everything including people. They don’t really do much for the average person(aside from how we smell, or maybe give small infections if skin is broken).
Some things are better than others, canning for example is designed to kill all of the microbes with heat and to some extent pH, and water content values.
Some things may be irradiated or pasteurized to kill more things off and then sealed, but again, reduced doesn’t mean 100%.
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