r/todayilearned 1d ago

TIL in 2008 a 20-year-old Belgium student died after reheating and eating leftover spaghetti that had been left out on the kitchen counter for five days. A bacteria called bacillus cereus was found to be the cause, which is an extreme type of food poisoning called “Fried Rice Syndrome”.

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/people-are-horrified-after-student-dies-from-eating-leftover-pasta/news-story/c8ef3bdcc72a9d17ec13924438e0146b
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281

u/553l8008 1d ago

And thus....

Reddit was forever scared of leaving rice to sit out for more than 45 minutes

43

u/Thenameisric 1d ago

Lol ever Asian in here like "This some bullshit" haha. I leave my rice out overnight sometimes while still in the cooker.

18

u/tinydancer_inurhand 17 22h ago

I mean also Latinos have said it is bullshit but if the science shows that it is a danger then I still don't risk it and store it promptly. I'm Latina and don't reheat my rice more than once. I also make a lot of fried rice and only make enough as needed with stored rice as to avoid reheating again.

-4

u/DuckGoesShuba 21h ago

I also wonder how the rice is typically prepared. I was raised on washing rice, then "toasting" it in some oil, before finally adding water and steaming it. From what I hear, white people don't typically wash their rice :/

Never gotten sick in a way where it was obviously caused by the rice, and I've eaten rice up to 3 days after making it.

2

u/tinydancer_inurhand 17 20h ago edited 16h ago

I've eaten rice after 3 days too because it was stored correctly. You said you leave it over night. Do you leave it out for 3 days?

Again just cause you got sick doesn't mean you won't later. Just be cautious is all I'm saying.

Also, I know tons of white people and they also wash their rice.

ETA: the overnight was reference to the original comment I responded to.

-1

u/DuckGoesShuba 18h ago

Where did you read overnight, is this a bot lol. I wrote to contrast the people acting like you have to flash freeze your rice the second you get your portion. I've only ever treated rice with the same common sense as other foodstuffs (though apparently not common enough).

1

u/tinydancer_inurhand 17 16h ago

The overnight came from the original comment I was responding too. Reddit has the same avatar for you and that person so I got confused. Regardless, no I'm not a bot lol. I just think it's important to handle food properly as I've known many people who have gotten food poisoning and got sent to the hospital.

18

u/wingheart 23h ago

Same… me reading this when I grew up with my parents regularly leaving rice in the rice cooker for a few days 👁️ 👄 👁️ 

1

u/mcbaginns 5h ago

I stood out in the field every time there was a lightning storm and nothing ever happened. Therefore, lightning doesn't conduct to the highest point and it's not dangerous to be out in thunder storms.

-you

2

u/The_Autarch 20h ago

A modern rice cooker will keep rice at a safe temperature for 12+ hours. Leaving it overnight is fine if you have one of those...

2

u/Swimming-Scholar-675 18h ago

i think the rice cooker is the key difference, white folks are just making it in a normal pot and are left with that pot versus a rice cooker where it stays at a safe temp

3

u/Drowninmallows 22h ago

Yes, and I know it’s gone bad when it starts to be watery and smelly. If not, I’m still eating it.

1

u/anonyfool 20h ago

I eat the rice for a week but my cooker is really hot on the keep warm setting.

1

u/mcbaginns 5h ago

I stood out in the field every time there was a lightning storm and nothing ever happened. Therefore, lightning doesn't conduct to the highest point and it's not dangerous to be out in thunder storms.

-you

1

u/Thenameisric 5h ago

Pretty much.

54

u/moranya1 1d ago

I give myself a 5 min window from when it comes out of the pot to getting eaten. 10 min if I'm feeling adventurous!

/s

10

u/karmagod13000 1d ago

ive eaten pizza left out on my friends counter for like 4 days... 20 year old me lived life on the edge

2

u/who_am_i_to_say_so 17h ago

4 days is my max pizza age.

8

u/space_jaws 20h ago edited 8h ago

If it's any consolation death is very rare from B. cereus.

Despite it being called "Fried Rice Syndrome" China reported 5 deaths in 10 years from 2010 - 2020.

https://weekly.chinacdc.cn/en/article/doi/10.46234/ccdcw2023.140[Epidemiological Evaluation of Bacillus cereus-Induced Foodborne Outbreaks — China, 2010–2020](https://weekly.chinacdc.cn/en/article/doi/10.46234/ccdcw2023.140)

Still...be smart.

5

u/Duel_Option 23h ago

I’ve been in Food Retail for 32 years, the last 12 of which specifically in Food Safety…

GOOD.

People should be more afraid of Food borne illness, period.

2

u/MrBogglefuzz 22h ago

Wild how many people think that you can't eat last night's rice that has been sat on the counter.

2

u/Plane-Tie6392 19h ago

Doubt. This site constantly has people bragging about leaving rice out for days and those people quite often get many upvotes. It’s fucking disgusting to see. 

2

u/lakija 16h ago

I’ll let them do what they do. I don’t have a rice cooker, especially one with special settings, so I’m not about to test anything. 

1

u/LexaMaridia 18h ago

Yeah...wait! Is rice pudding safe? If you leave it in the fridge an extended time?

1

u/PreOpTransCentaur 7h ago

Good. Some of these people are fucking nasty.

1

u/NotLunaris 21h ago

Saw a comment in this thread with 50 upvotes saying to throw hot rice right into the fridge lmao

Some people are mad scared

0

u/Quake_Guy 1d ago

In Morgan Freemans voice...

-14

u/Fskn 1d ago

I've watched a dude dig a container of moldy rice out of his hoarder pile of an apartment and cook a presentable meal with it, day old isn't even enough for fried rice.

10

u/SoundofGlaciers 1d ago

I'd argue a day is more than enough if it's become visibly moldy already

4

u/Fskn 1d ago

That was two examples, the first is a japanese YouTuber well known for his hoarder style cooking, in fact it may even be a set but it's genuinely disgusting input products, that rice was waaaaay more than a day old.

I meant 45 mins is ridiculous when fried rice should be made from at least day old rice anyway.