— Diane Kirschner

The most common, uh, concern really is the spoilage bacteria, the common bacteria, uh, that's all around us. It's on our hands, you know, it's on our utensils. It's, uh, it's in the air, you know, it's, uh, it's all, you know, it, it, it, um, uh, could be spores, it, it, you know, could be, uh, bacteria, you know, uh, so it's, they're different things, but they're all microorganisms that contribute to the spoilage of food. That's the biggest issue. Uh, when we talk about hanging on to leftover foods, um, or, you know, wet foods, right? These wet environments, um, are ones that are friendly or hospitable to, uh, these microorganisms. And, um, so when it comes to spoilage, microorganisms, spoilage, bacteria, uh, you know, these things generally aren't gonna kill you. Uh, but they could give you, um, some gi distress, whether it's a tummy ache or diarrhea, or, you know, something kind of in, in that realm. Um, on the other hand, uh, there's a, a lot of talk, and in the news, you know, we, we, we hear about, uh, the, the diseases, right? The foodborne, uh, illnesses via these diseases like, um, salmonella or, you know, e coli or, um, you know, the various and cent other things that we have in our, uh, greater, uh, especially processed food system, um, uh, here in the US and other places too, but very significantly here in the us. Um, you know, those sort of, uh, diseases are severe, and the outcome may well be death. And this is why we talk about them so much, and we want to avoid them, even though the occurrence is, uh, relatively rare, okay? They do happen. Um, but, uh, you know, the, the, the, the chances of of bumping into this sort of thing is relatively small, okay? The more common issue is gonna be, um, spoilage of your food and, and ingesting some spoilage bacteria that can, uh, give you some, a mild distress. But because, uh, of, um, the, the, the dire possible dire consequences we need to, um, understand and practice food safety and sanitation. Okay? So, I, I don't, I don't wanna, uh, minimize that at all, but I just wanna put it into context.