# If heat kills germs, why can't I just reheat bad meat? Also is this considered an oil change? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484 "2012-05-01T05:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484/21 "2012-05-01T22:50:18Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Wha??? If I buy a new car and after 3,000 miles, it is 3 quarts low on oil, the dealership will say that is within specs and not a problem? I would go nuts if I heard that.. Well, I’d like to imagine that if you had a brand-new car that was using that much oil they’d make things right, but in general that is the point at which the car makers will allow a warranty repair for oil consumption alone. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484/22 "2012-05-01T23:25:59Z")
Dilbert addressed your second question many years ago: [Just a quick question…](http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/1990-07-14/) ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484/23 "2012-05-02T08:14:39Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > The first is taste. Spoiled food tastes like, well, spoiled food. Even if you cook rotten meat it will still taste like cooked rotten meat. Cooking won’t remove the rancid fats, the sulfides, the mucous and so forth that make rotten meat or rotten cheese smell like something dead and feel slimy. It may be perfectly safe to eat, but no way in hell is anyone actually going to eat it something that smells like roadkill and has the texture of yoghurt. I tried this a few weeks ago. We cooked a piece of chicken that smelled bad (but not expired, so we thought it might be ok), and it still smelled bad after cooking. Didn’t eat it. About the leaking, it’s not the same as changing the oil, because the oil leaking out is not completely “dirty”, it’s been diluted by the oil coming in. This way, you’ll never get rid of all contaminants. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484/24 "2012-05-02T10:43:20Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > [Botulinum toxin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulinum_toxin#Denaturing), the stuff that causes botulism, is stable to 176 F. That’s hotter than the final temperature for most cooked meats. If a food has botulinum toxin in it, cooking it is not necessarily going to make it safe. That’s why we made a stew. It bubbled for a couple hours. That’s 212 and long enough to heat it through. ---
**Author:** ![Borzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@Borzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Borzo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484/25 "2012-05-02T11:43:55Z")
Germs and bacteria create toxic shit that’s resistant to heat. Heating may kill the germs themselves, but their kryptonite will remain left behind in most cases. And that shit is what’s really bad for you. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2012, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484/26 "2012-05-02T15:31:03Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > [Botulinum toxin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botulinum_toxin#Denaturing), the stuff that causes botulism, is stable to 176 F. That’s hotter than the final temperature for most cooked meats. If a food has botulinum toxin in it, cooking it is not necessarily going to make it safe. Or, try [Staphylococcal Enterotoxin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylococcal_Enterotoxin_B). According to Wiki that will withstand a few minutes of boiling. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-heat-kills-germs-why-cant-i-just-reheat-bad-meat-also-is-this-considered-an-oil-change/620484.md?page=1)