Food Poisoning: It happens to all of us that many times the food prepared at home is saved, which we keep in the fridge and consume again. But when it comes to rice, the debate often starts with whether the leftover rice should be eaten or not. In today's run-of-the-mill life where people do not have time to sit and eat properly, cooking food daily also seems like a big task. In such a situation, many people prepare some things in advance and keep them in the fridge to save time. Rice is one of them. However, some people also face illness and stomach problems after eating leftover rice. In this article, we will try to find out whether leftover rice can cause food poisoning or not.
What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning occurs when a person eats contaminated food. According to Britain's National Health Service (NHS), most cases of food poisoning are caused by food contaminated by bacteria, such as Salmonella or Escherichia coli (E. coli), or viruses such as norovirus.
According to experts, food poisoning can happen even after consuming undercooked or stale food. Apart from this, there can be many reasons like not refrigerating cooked food, leaving food out at room temperature for more than 2 hours during summer, or not reheating the leftover food properly, etc.
Symptoms of Food Poisoning
abdominal pain, cramping, or bloating
nausea
vomit
Diarrhea
to feel sick
During this, experts recommend eating fresh home-cooked food. Coming back to rice, can eat leftover rice lead to food poisoning?
Experts believe that eating reheated rice can lead to food poisoning. But it is to be noted here that reheating the rice does not cause any problems. Rather, the way rice is stored and reheated, it causes food poisoning. Reheating is always questionable but the primary concern should be how you store your food.
Raw rice contains a bacterium called "Bacillus Cereus", which can produce a toxin under favorable conditions. When cooked rice is kept at room temperature for too long, it can multiply and then its consumption can cause food poisoning.
Tips for Serving Rice Safely
-Cook rice properly and serve fresh, but if you can't eat it whole, keep it in the refrigerator and don't leave leftover rice at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
-Store leftover rice in a covered container at refrigeration temperature (4 degrees C), but not more than a day
Heat the leftover rice only once, not again and again
Heat the rice until it reaches steaming temperature
-Handle food with cleanliness and hygiene
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