Spores
Spores are a defensive mechanism by bacteria to survive adverse conditions. This is done by:
- Forming thick walls around them to survive through cooking
- When conditions are right, spores are broken to commence growth.
When bacteria are under threat from things like boiling, from acid or alkaline conditions, they produce spores. Spore could also be a protective case which helps prevent the bacteria from being destroyed. Eating spores may not pose a health risk, However, when conditions become more favourable, they become active again and the resulting bacteria start to multiply again. This is applicable to dehydrated food also as the spores in dehydrated condition may become active when re-hydrated. Similarly, even when the food has been cooked, if bacteria have survived in spore form, they may be able to germinate and multiply again as the food becomes cooler.
Spores are usually destroyed with high pressures and temperatures like Ultra Heat Treatment (UHT). Some spore forming bacteria will produce toxins (poisons) that only cooking to extremely high temperatures will destroy. Not all cooking processes can reach temperatures sufficient to kill all bacteria, hence all food must still be treated with after cooking and during storage.
