When you put toast in a toaster, what's the normal estimate of how much germs it kills?

I've got bad new and good news for you, Malcolm.

The bad news is that despite searching high and low, we couldn't find a good estimate for exactly how many germs a normal non-moldy piece of bread might have.

So it's really hard to know how many germs are killed by toasting it, but we can still make some educated assumptions.

That's the good news.

Germs are everywhere, so there are definitely some on your bread.

That doesn't mean it's necessarily going to harm you, though.

Some germs are pretty mild and our bodies have built up lots of defenses to fight of things that could make us sick.

Now, toasting your bread does do some extra good when it comes to neutralizing pesky bacteria.

The higher the temperature, the more surface bacteria will be killed off.

So if you're toasting your bread enough for it to turn golden brown, that's a good start and throw away your bread if it has any visible mold on it.

But here's the key.

Your toast could be clea as can be, and it does no good if you pick it up with dirty, germy hands.

You can transfer germs from your hands to your toast to your mouth pretty easily.

So whether you're toasting or not, the best thing you can do to avoid the germs that might make you sick is wash your hands before you eat.

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