Why the Age-Old Practice of Eating Leftover Rice is Not a Good Idea!

Eating yesterday’s rice today is a pretty common practice. It is just too easy to make too much rice to eat. Not to mention that the rice is the perfect accompaniment to so many meals that you naturally want to always have some on hand. People might not be aware that this practice can be potentially dangerous. If you eat leftover rice cooked from earlier day, you may find yourself suffering from food poisoning. Read on to learn about how leftover rice can cause food poisoning and how to prevent it.

How eating leftover rice can lead to food poisoning

Many people would suspect that the food poisoning issue was a result of the reheating process. But it is actually due to how you store the rice. If you are planning to store rice in the fridge, you shouldn’t let it sit out for an hour. Uncooked rice can sometimes contain spores of the Bacillus cereus bacteria, which can cause food poisoning. This bacterium is actually quite hardy; it can survive the cooking process. When rice is allowed to sit out at room temperature, the bacteria will have the chance to multiply. If the bacteria multiplies enough, it can become toxic to the point that you begin to suffer from diarrhea and vomiting.

How to eat old rice and not contract food poisoning

There are really only two options to completely protect your rice, and consequently your gastrointestinal tract from succumbing to Bacillus cereus. The first is to only cook the rice you plan to eat and serve it fresh from the cooker. The second is to store the rice you’re intending to save as soon as it has cooled down. Make sure you eat the rice the next day at the latest, and make sure its steaming all the way through when you reheat it.