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It will kill the pathogens which cause vomiting and diarrhea: the article mentions e. coli, which the CDC[0] recommend 1 minute at boiling temperature to deacti
by falsedan 9y ago
It will kill the pathogens which cause vomiting and diarrhea: the article mentions e. coli, which the CDC[0] recommend 1 minute at boiling temperature to deactivate. I'd skip that and stop as soon as the water boiled.
Note that sterilization requires higher temperatures for longer periods, but it's not required for food products consumed by the general public. Some bacteria may survive the boiling process, but your stomach acid + immune system will destroy them.
[0]: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/disease/e_coli.html https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/private/wells/dise...
- rdoherty 9y agoGood point! That's why posting on HN is so great, even if you're 99.9% correct, someone will always reply to tell you precisely how you are 0.1% wrong . Thanks for the link, I tried to find official sources online and had trouble.
- falsedan 9y agoTo be clear, I think your original comment is just fabulous and you're 100% right. I'm just curious since I know that controlling the level of E. coli contamination in milk is important from first-hand work on dairy farms, plus I know that pasteurization heats (not boils) the milk, and not for the ridiculous durations I see when searching online for "making water safe to drink".
- mattkrause 9y agoAlso, the relevant factor is not just temperature--it's a combination of time and temperature. For milk, you can do 1-2 seconds at 135C (UHT), 15 sec at 72C (HTST), or something like 20 min at 60C.