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> Even killing all pathogens does not reduce all toxins already present in contaminated liquids. There are two things to be mindful of: Food Poisoning and Food

> Even killing all pathogens does not reduce all toxins already present in contaminated liquids. There are two things to be mindful of: Food Poisoning and Food Intoxication. Poisoning occurs from microbes (e.g. salmonella). Most are killed instantly at ~165F/74F, or at lower temperatures if those temperatures are kept for some period of time (140F/60C@12min; 150F/65C@72sec): * https://www.michiganfoodsafety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/USDA-Appendix-A-Time-and-Temperature-Combinations.pdf https://www.michiganfoodsafety.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/0... * Tables 2 to 4: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/2021-12/Appendix-A.pdf https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media_file/202... However, microbes are living things, and when they metabolize food they create waste. That waste can also be harmful to humans as well, but the waste is not dealt with high temperatures. So even if you kill the microbes at high temperatures to prevent poisoning, if there's enough waste around and you ingest it you may get food intoxication.

0xbadcafebee 10mo ago
Apparently foodbourne intoxication is a food thing, not a water [tank] thing [1]. It seems heat-stable toxins are very rare in drinking water, as it isn't nutrient-rich enough to create enough toxins to affect you. Even biofilms don't really generate much toxins, they just leech off the microbes which cause issues. Another example of this would be old rooftop water tanks in places like NYC. It's a giant tank which never gets cleaned, and often has all kinds of gross things in it, but (usually) no food for germs to munch on. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12385500/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12385500/