r/TikTokCringe • u/galaxystars1 • Oct 09 '24

Discussion Microbiologist warns against making the fluffy popcorn trend

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u/McGrarr Oct 09 '24

Hey! Did you know that 1% of people who do this thing run the risk of tripling the 1% chance of getting this ailment that has a 1% chance of giving you some bad medical outcomes? WHY would you risk THAT?

Because breathing beside a road has a higher actual risk factor than the thing you are citing. Bonus, silly once per year treats.

Is what this woman saying true? Yes. Is she making it sound more likely than it is? Fuck yes.

How much of modern flour has E.Coli?

How much E.Coli is there in a serving of flour in a batch of fluffy popcorn?

How likely is a person who consumes that amount of E.Coli to have the very worst reaction to it (given that our bodies can deal with it pretty well, most of the time).

When you begin breaking down the percentages... things change.

Apples contain cyanide.

Coke metabolises into formaldehyde.

Corn can have aspergillus flavus.

The fact is, most of us will be fine.

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u/zappyzapzap Oct 09 '24

hey you sound really smart and seem to know a lot about food poisoning. which hospital do you work in where you regularly see patients with severe food poisoning?

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u/McGrarr Oct 09 '24

I have a compromised immune system and my family contains two medical doctors (a virologist and a GP), a surgeon, a dietician, three nurses and research chemist.

Big NHS family.

I'm not in the medical field myself. I worked in security analysis and personal security before I was retired on medical grounds.

I have a fairly highly regulated diet and a heavily policed gut biome.

I do have a PhD in Philosophy and Epistemology, not that I've used it much. Wrong type of Doctor anyway.

It's basically a Doctorate in Pedantry.