# Food poisoining

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 24, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743 "2009-01-24T01:50:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![tzimmerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@tzimmerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tzimmerman)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/1 "2009-01-24T01:50:51Z")

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I just ate a meat lovers pizza that had been sitting out since yesterday. Not the brightest thing I know. However, I did microwave the hell out of it, to the point it was sizzilling hot. To hot for bacteria to survive. The questionn I have is that could the bacteria have produced toxins beforehand that could threaten food poisoning.?

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**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/2 "2009-01-24T02:12:49Z")

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Sure, they could. You gotta ask yourself, do ya feel lucky?

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**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/3 "2009-01-24T02:19:45Z")

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Yep. Some bacteria cause food poisoning through toxins that are formed while the bacteria was growing. That means that even if you do kill the bacteria, the toxin will still remain on the food and potentially produce illness.  
Good luck. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/4 "2009-01-24T02:27:57Z")

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What kind of meat did it have on it? Stuff like bacon and pepperoni is quite salty.  
If it was large pieces of chicken, the risk is probably higher.

Also: ‘sitting out’ under what conditions? Warm room? Cold kitchen?

> [@](#):
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> The questionn I have is that could the bacteria have produced toxins beforehand that could threaten food poisoning.?

The answer is yes, they could. The question is probably better asked in advance of eating it though.

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/5 "2009-01-24T02:33:57Z")

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> [@Mangetout](#):
>
> What kind of meat did it have on it? Stuff like bacon and pepperoni is quite salty

Since he called it a “meat lover’s” I assume it was the Pizza Hut pizza of the same name. It has bacon, pepperoni, sausage, ham and ground beef in addition to the usual sauce and cheese.

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**Author:** ![tzimmerman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@tzimmerman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tzimmerman)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/6 "2009-01-24T09:17:32Z")

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thanks for the info, it’s looks like i got lucky.

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**Author:** ![ivn1188](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@ivn1188](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivn1188)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/7 "2009-01-24T10:51:27Z")

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Bah. No luck involved. Getting food poisoning is pretty rare except with uncooked stuff that’s been sitting out, and even then you are far more likely to get foodborne illness with raw ingredients.

Everyone claims “better safe than sorry”, but the risk is frankly miniscule.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/food-poisoining/482743/8 "2009-01-24T11:47:15Z")

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Minuscule until your butt is glued to a toilet and you’re puking into the bucket propped on your knees. No, it doesn’t happen all the time but who wants to chance being that miserable?