Is there any way to kill bacteria in food without using heat?

Is there any way to kill bacteria in food without using heat? - Side view happy African American females in stylish dresses taking photos on smartphones of freshly cooked food while having lunch in cozy cafe against painted wall

The title says it all. Context: food preservation



Best Answer

As Lars Friedrich already wrote, curing with salt is a way to kill bacteria. A high sugar content and the removal of water in general alters the water activity.1
Some chemicals are toxic to bacteria (and to some extend also toxic to humans) like borax (which is used to preserve caviar; I'm not sure if it only inhibits the growth of bacteria) or ethanol (drinking alcohol). Sulfites are used - not exclusively - in wine making and on dried fruit.
You can alter the pH. I doubt the food will be edible as-it-is.
Last but not least you can irradiate the food to sterilize it. Irradiation is also commonly used to sterilize (disposable?) medical equipment.

Please note that freezing does not kill any bacteria.

Side note: There are some other bacteria that survive even in such adverse environments but they are not common as foodborne pathogens. If you really want to be sure that the food is sterile without cooking, you have pressure-sterilize, "poison" it or irradiate it.
You can also preserve food even with bacteria and fungi: A sourdough has an almost indefinitely shelf-live. It basically only consists of flour, water and a mix of many different bacteria and yeasts. Cultured milk also has a very long shelf life.
For further reading: The FAT TOM rule describes the six favorable conditions required for the growth of foodborne pathogens.


1 Caveat: (Botulinum) spores survive in honey. Do they count as bacteria?



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Quick Answer about "Is there any way to kill bacteria in food without using heat?"

The most common method to kill bacteria without heat is curing with salt. The removal of the water and the addition of salt leads to an osmotic pressure that draws the water out of the bacteria.

What is the only way to kill bacteria in food?

The only way to kill bacteria by temperature is by cooking food at temperatures of 165 degrees or more. Bacteria also die in highly acidic environments like pickle juice.

How do you sterilize meat without cooking it?

Using steam, this simple, inexpensive method quickly kills Salmonella and other harmful microorganisms on poultry, fresh beef and pork without cooking the meat.

How do you kill bacteria in cooked food?

You can kill bacteria by cooking poultry and meat to a safe internal temperature . Use a cooking thermometer to check the temperature. You can't tell if meat is properly cooked by looking at its color or juices. Leftovers should be refrigerated at 40\xb0F or colder within 2 hours after preparation.

Which method of cooking kills the most bacteria?

It's a basic fact that every cook should know: bacteria that cause illness inevitably end up on nearly every ingredient we cook with, and even boiling won't kill all of them. Boiling does kill any bacteria active at the time, including E. coli and salmonella.



Fighting bacteria without antibiotics | Jody Druce | TEDxYouth@ISPrague




More answers regarding is there any way to kill bacteria in food without using heat?

Answer 2

The most common method to kill bacteria without heat is curing with salt. The removal of the water and the addition of salt leads to an osmotic pressure that draws the water out of the bacteria.

Answer 3

The term is "cold sterilization"; most methods will indeed be out of reach of home users. Some of the methods used in industry seem to be just sieving the bacteria out (microfiltration), pressurizing everything to 50000 psi, or obviously chemicals that remain in the food as preservatives or that self-decompose into relatively inert compounds in storage (Dimethyldicarbonate). Some compounds in common seasonings (Turmeric, Onions/Garlic, Chilies) are claimed to have an effect that lowers bacterial growth (but does not completely inhibit it).

Answer 4

Classic sour pickles actually contain a very small amount of salt -- just enough to discourage most bacteria and encourage the growth of Lactobacillus acidophilus. LBA's byproducts then kill off whatever else was trying to compete with it.

Vinegar pickles likewise are a hostile environment for most organisms.

(Folks not too much younger than me can remember when stores had barrels of pickles and you'd just grab the ones you wanted with a pair of tongs. No refrigeration needed.)

Other folks have covered other traditional ways of preserving food -- drying, smoking, etc. A properly cured ham can hang on a hook for years and still be edible, though you may need to trim off the moldy outer surface.

While we're speaking of mold: cheese is another food protected by curing, using various cultures. And again, if you don't mind trimming off the rind, many hard cheeses can pretty much look after themselves.

So can butter, actually -- it may go rancid due to chemical breakdown if not kept cool, but other than that it doesn't need to be refrigerated. Ditto most oils. Ditto most fruit; it may get moldy or start to ferment due to harmless organisms, but otherwise can look after itself longer than most Americans think it can.

Answer 5

Certain viruses can be used:

In the Federal Register of August 18, 2006, FDA announced that it had approved the use of a bacteriophage preparation made from six individually purified phages to be used on RTE meat and poultry products as an antimicrobial agent against Listeria monocytogenes.

Answer 6

In Home-settings; our family do as the following -

For meat => Use Lemons or limes
- Just simply slice the lemons and squeeze it over the meat in a bowl.
- Leave it for 15 minutes or more (can also refrigerated for overnight if you wish to prepare for another day)

For vegetable => Use salt
- In a bowl of water, add some amount of salt
- Then, add vegetable (after cut)
- Leave it for 15 minutes or more

I hope that's what you are looking for. Thanks.

Answer 7

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is used to treat liquids such as milk and stored water. Only a couple of drops of 3-7% aqueous solution of H2O2 in 1L of liquid is enough to disinfect. Fresh milk could last 2 weeks easily when treated.

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

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