Which bacteria can survive in boiling water?
Some bacteria produce spores, which can resist boiling water at atmospheric pressure (100 DegC). Clostridium botulinum is one such type — the bacteria that cause botulism, a deadly form of poisoning. For this reason when canning food — or sterilizing surgical instruments — it’s not enough to simply use boiling water. Instead pressure cookers are used, which allow much higher temperatures that can kill the bacterial spores as well as the actual bacteria.
