My understanding is that the cells of bacteria and fungi are filled with water enclosed in a balloon. Wouldn’t microwaving then pop the balloons?
In: Biology
A common form of food poisoning is caused by the bacteria Staphylococcus aureus. It releases staph toxin that after a few hours causes involuntary vomiting. Killing the bacteria with heat will not break down the staph toxin.
Everyone here is forgetting something. The wavelength of microwaves do not heat up bacteria.
Take a look at [this video](https://youtu.be/B8nnPYBc4hc). Ants can roam about in the *inside* of microwaves without being harmed, because they are smaller than the microwave wavelength. Much less bacteria.
So you can’t technically kill bacteria by putting them in the microwave. The heat from the actual food being heated *might* kill the bacteria, but it’s not “directly” from the microwave.
And then there’s the toxin part which everyone is referring to.
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