To think cooking in this way would kill all bacteria?

[polkadotdinosaur]

Settle a debate. I’m making mashed potato. Dropped a bit of potato in the sink. Sink hasn’t been cleaned for a while. If said bit of potato goes in a pan full of boiling hot water, any germs would be removed right? Been told it would’ve been better to bin it rather than throwing it in…

YABU - nope could still have germs
YANBU - absolutely! boiling water means no more germs

For the sake of a tiny bit of potato why bother?! If it was a whole piece of meat or something expensive I’d rinse it and eat it still but why with the potato?! My sink gets the dogs bowl, utensils I’ve used for raw meat etc so I’d rather just bin anything dropped in!!

Somebody has some sort of anxiety related to food and germs and is complaining that you dropped the potato into boiling water instead of binning it? You're fine. It was a clean (unused) sink and its a potato -- not an old sponge. The boiling water would kill any (non-existent) bacteria that would cause any stomach upset even if there were something there for it to pick up.

Me too.
I can’t believe the fuss some people make about such things. And IMO the obsession some MNers seem to have over germs and ‘hygiene’ (I use quotes advisedly) is bordering on a MH issue.

A potato grows in soil, that soil is full of worms and cow shite, they are harvested and stored in barns. Rats mice could be running over them and then someone is worried about the spud touching a sink. A rinse under water and boiled and all bacteria is dead!

I'm guessing the person who was disgusted still ate the raw chicken after it had been cooked. What's the difference?!