Which statement about cooking is true?

• A. Cooking does not kill many spores and toxins produced by pathogens
• B. Cooking kills all spores and toxins
• C. Cooking increases bacteria viability
• D. Cooking has no effect on pathogens

Answer: (A)

Cooking mainly targets living, vegetative bacteria, but it has limitations. Some bacteria form spores, which are highly resistant to heat and can survive typical cooking temperatures. Even when spores aren’t killed, the toxins they may produce can remain in food if they’re already formed, especially if those toxins are heat-stable. That means cooking can reduce or eliminate many bacteria, but it does not reliably destroy many spores or toxins. That’s why the statement about cooking not killing many spores and toxins is the best answer.

If you consider the other ideas: cooking does not kill all spores and toxins, so it isn’t true that it kills everything. It also doesn’t increase bacterial viability; cooking generally lowers the number of viable organisms, though it can’t eliminate all hazards. And cooking does have an effect on pathogens, so saying it has no effect is incorrect.