Science Questions

Should you repair a broken dish for food?

My friend told me you shouldn’t repair a broken dish or a dish that has a crack in it for food because bacteria get in the crack and it’s not safe or sanitary. Is this true? Norma Webber

Helen:  I think if we think about it carefully, it’s got to be true that bacteria can get into those cracks and you can’t reach them there to scrape them off.  There’s no physical way of cleaning them out.  Bit of water and food can also get into that crack so they can do very nicely, thank you very much, they're safe, they have water to keep themselves going and food.  Yes, whether or not it’s going to actually have a big effect I don’t know.  I still drink cups of tea with cracks in and I haven’t yet caught anything nasty.  Maybe if you’re worried about it then yes, don’t go there.

Chris:  I think she’s right because you’re going to have a bacterial banquet down there.  You’ve got food and water and you can’t physically remove the bugs.  They could actually be growing in there and then contaminate food.  If you, for instance put food on the plate and then store it for a period of time it could contaminate the food.  Especially if you put warm food on bacteria grow very, very fast.

February 2008