Which bacteria can survive cooking to appropriate levels?

Clostridium perfringens is a spore-forming bacterium that can survive cooking to appropriate levels due to its ability to produce spores. These spores are highly resistant to heat and can survive temperatures that would kill vegetative cells of many other harmful bacteria. When food that contains C. perfringens is cooked, the spores may remain viable, and if the food is then improperly stored or kept at unsafe temperatures, these spores can germinate into vegetative cells and multiply, leading to foodborne illness.

In the context of food safety, it’s important to understand that while cooking can kill many pathogens, the unique resilience of C. perfringens spores means that simply cooking food does not eliminate the potential for illness if the food is not handled or stored correctly afterward. This characteristic distinguishes it from other bacteria listed, which do not have the same level of heat resistance in spore form, making cooked food safe if handled appropriately.