Wouldn’t cooking denature the proteins?
If I remember correctly, cooking does next to nothing to prions.
Even if heat does destabilize the proteins, does that mean that the resulting byproducts would be safe for ingestion?
IIRC, cooking doesn’t damage prions..................
Killing method
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How are prions killed?
To destroy a prion it must be denatured to the point that it can no longer cause normal proteins to misfold. Sustained heat for several hours at extremely high temperatures (900°F and above) will reliably destroy a prion.
“Wouldn’t cooking denature the proteins?”
My first thought was, I guess I’ll be having extra crispy bacon for a while.
Yes, and also, feral hog meat doesn’t have this issue. Think of it as free range pork. Really good hams and sausage 😋
No. Prions are *extremely* hard to destroy. There is no “standard” way to do it, but usually it involves autoclaving in a strong hot sodium hydrochlorite bleach solution for as long as 30 minutes.
Other methods that have been tried include: irradiation, enzymes, formalin fixation, CAC-717, Low-temperature gaseous hydrogen peroxide, plasma technology, Alkaline hydrolysis, Sodium hydroxide, and incineration.
Prion strains can have different sensitivities to inactivation, so it’s important to confirm that the method being used is effective for the strain of prion in question.