Final answer:
Cooking can reduce many pathogens in food to safe levels, but it does not guarantee destruction of all spores or toxins. Certain spores like those from C. botulinum can withstand high temperatures, and some toxins are heat-stable. Using a cooking thermometer to reach the correct internal temperature is crucial for ensuring food safety.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that cooking can reduce pathogens in food to safe levels is generally true. Cooking and heat treatments such as boiling, pasteurization, and canning are effective methods to kill vegetative cells of bacteria, viruses, and some other pathogens. However, it is incorrect to say that cooking will destroy all spores or toxins that may have been produced by these pathogens. Some spores with high heat tolerance, such as those from C. botulinum, can survive extreme conditions and certain toxins are heat-stable and will not be inactivated by cooking. For instance, while sterilization and canning procedures aim to destroy these spores by using high temperatures, they do not guarantee the total elimination of all microbes but are optimized to target those most likely to cause foodborne diseases.
To ensure food safety, it is also important to follow proper sanitation practices, like regular handwashing and using a cooking thermometer to verify that food has reached a high enough internal temperature to kill bacteria, which should be at least 74 degrees C (165 degrees F).