Why You Should Think Twice Before Eating Leftover Rice
Rice is a versatile food because it is filling and delicious. As a result, most people across the world consider it as a dietary staple. As much as many people love consuming it with different meals, it has been recently discovered that if not well handled, rice can make you fall sick easily. The problem is not reheating rice, but how people choose to store it.
Can reheating rice cause food poisoning?
Yes, you can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. It’s not the reheating that causes the problem, but the way the rice has been stored before it’s reheated.
How does reheated rice cause food poisoning?
Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, bacteria that can cause food poisoning. The spores can survive when rice is cooked.
If rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.
The longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that the bacteria or toxins could make the rice unsafe to eat.
Symptoms of food poisoning
If you eat rice that contains Bacillus cereus bacteria, you may be sick and experience vomiting or diarrhoea about 1 to 5 hours afterwards. Symptoms are relatively mild and usually last about 24 hours.
How to Store your Rice Safely
- Tips on serving rice safely
- Ideally, serve rice as soon as it has been cooked.
- If that is not possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within 1 hour).
- Keep rice in the fridge for no more than 1 day until reheating.
- When you reheat rice, always check that it’s steaming hot all the way through.
- Do not reheat rice more than once.
The guidelines in this article are not difficult to follow. Additionally, they are vital to know to ensure that you keep your health fine. Many people fall sick after eating a meal with rice, but they do not understand the reason behind it. Now that you know, it is your responsibility to protect yourself and your family from the bacteria that grow on your rice. As long as you cook your rice at the right temperature and cool it immediately after you are done eating, you are assured of avoiding certain bacteria-related diseases.
Were you aware of these risks? Let us know how you store your leftover rice in the comments. Don’t forget to pass this article on to your friends and loved ones, it’s important to inform everyone about this!
