I was just remembering some recalls somewhat recently of big bags of frozen fruit in stores like costco. And i was wondering, how can any bad bacteria survive the freezing long enough to make people sick by the time they buy and eat the fruit? Shouldn’t the freezing process kill practically everything?
In: Biology
Bacteria are small. So small that their structures aren’t affected by freezing.
Instead, freezing puts bacteria into a state of hibernation – or to sleep. Once it thaws out, it wakes up and continues to do what bacteria do – eat, reproduce and express waste products.
The most common contamination in foods is from E Coli, Listeria or Salmonella.
You’re partly right – freezing kills practically everything – just not these particular bacteria.
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