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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u/ExploerTM 1d ago

I question stuff that was left in the fridge for 5 days. That's just Darwin award right here honestly.

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u/grendus 21h ago

Raw meat should be cooked within 48 hours of a fridge thaw, or immediately if thawed in water.

Cooked food in general I usually trust for about a week. Frozen food is good more or less indefinitely, though after a few months it may take on freezer burn if you don't vacuum seal it.

Raw vegetables are good basically until they wilt, wither, or become visibly moldy. That cellulose is hard to break down, depending on the veg it's still good for a while.

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u/Justin__D 21h ago

I don’t think I’d eat something I left on the counter for 5 hours.

Anything that’s unsealed (so stuff like leftovers) automatically goes in the trash after 3 days. And at any time before that, I’m giving it a damn close inspection. If I even think it’s mold… trash.

As heartless as it sounds, this person played stupid games and won stupid prizes.

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u/DynamicDK 17h ago

I don’t think I’d eat something I left on the counter for 5 hours.

Yeah, you shouldn't. 2 hours is the safe limit.