Which of the following is a characteristic of viruses in food safety?

Viruses have a unique way of reproducing that distinguishes them from bacteria and other pathogens. They require a living host cell to replicate. This means that once consumed, they invade the cells of the host organism and commandeer the cellular machinery to produce new virus particles. This characteristic is crucial in understanding food safety, as it explains how viruses can cause illness without building colonies like bacteria do.

The other options do not accurately describe the behavior or characteristics of viruses in the context of food safety. For example, viruses are not destroyed by minimal cooking; they often survive temperatures that would kill bacteria. Similarly, while high temperatures can eliminate some pathogens, they do not guarantee the destruction of all viruses. The idea that viruses thrive in chemical environments is also misleading, as their survival depends more on the host rather than environmental chemicals.