Is rice OK to eat if left out all night?
I made plain rice in my rice cooker yesterday, I had some, left for work, and then forgot about it until this morning. It's been in the rice cooker since last evening. If I reheat it, will it be alright to eat?
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What makes you sick is Bacillus cereus, says CSIRO food microbiologist Cathy Moir.
Bacillus cereus under the microscope.(Flickr: Hanna Sörensson)
These bacteria produce toxins that will give you a (usually) mild vomiting illness shortly after you eat the contaminated food (sometimes it only takes 30 minutes to get sick).
Bacillus cereus is commonly found in soil and sometimes in plant foods that are grown close to the ground, such as rice, legumes, cereals, spices, etc.
If foods are cooked and handled correctly Bacillus cereus isn't a problem.
The trouble is that in dry conditions — such as those found in a rice packet or spice container — Bacillus cereus remains present as spores.
Cooking not enough to kill spores or toxins
The spores stay dormant until you add water then presto, they germinate and grow.
Unfortunately, the cooking process doesn't kill the heat-resistant spores or the toxin the bacteria produces.
Cooking with rice
When it comes to cooking rice, there are plenty of decisions to be made.
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Once the rice is cooked, the Bacillus cereus bacteria grow and thrive in the moist, warm environment, especially when other bacteria that may have been present initially have been killed by cooking.
So if you're not going to eat rice straight after you've cooked it, you need to store it in the fridge — preferably within an hour or so, but definitely within four hours.
Refrigeration won't kill the bacteria but it will slow down their growth.
For this reason, any uneaten leftover rice should be thrown out after five days in the fridge.
Any longer and you risk having enough of the food poisoning bacteria present to make you sick.
No more dodgy fried rice
Ms Moir says this type of food poisoning is less frequent now than it was in the 1970s, when fried rice was a common culprit.
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"Restaurants would cook steamed rice one day, then leave the rice out overnight to cook as fried rice the next day," she explains.
"So it had been sitting around for a day and the Bacillus spores had germinated, grown, and produced the toxins.
"When the fried rice was cooked, the toxin wasn't destroyed; then the customer consumed the rice and was sick, so there were plenty of outbreaks.
"With the health authorities identifying the cause and educating the restaurateurs, the incidence of this type of food poisoning quickly decreased."
The best way to avoid food poisoning from Bacillus cereus and other, often nastier, bacteria is to always cook and store food safely.
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Cooking rice for later
If you are cooking rice that is not going to be eaten straight away, Ms Moir suggests waiting until the steam stops rising, then cover the rice and put it in the fridge.
And so you are better informed, this type of food poisoning happens all the time in Asia too. Warnings are listed on multiple county's health agency websites. Just because you aren't paying attention doesn't mean something doesn't exist and it CERTAINLY doesn't mean people are saying it to be "racist against asians". Educate yourself. People don't spend their lives studying science to make jokes.
We have eaten with Columbians but usually they do not give leftovers to their guests days after, usually we eat when it's freshly cooked. I am talking specifically about them eating the leftover rice among themselves.
For many people who live with rice as part of their main diet, eating leftover cooked rice is quite common. For those not acclimatised to it, or have existing digestive issues or food intolerances, it makes no sense to risk it.
The decision is up to the 'informed' person asking the question.
We have never at one point advised on consuming leftover cooked rice.
We have never at one point claimed that leftover rice did not contain harmful bacteria.
We have never at one point claimed that is it healthy to eat.
We are supplying real cases from thousands of years of observed cultures to help the user understand why for some people, they are affected and why others are not.
Although we are trained holistic doctors, we do not advise taking action from advice on forums, but to consult with a professional.
The answer depends on your cultural background and stomach.
As an Asian, my family and I have been cooking plain rice, leaving it out to cool overnight (covered) and then reheat it the next day (usually stir fried or steamed again). We live in a cooler climate, usually temperatures overnight don't reach more than 20'c and can be around 15'c in the evening.
It is true that bacteria can grow on rice at room temperature (whatever that temperature may be) but we've may also developed resistance to this bacteria over the years. We experience no ill health.
We have cooked meals for western friends (they willingly accept) and they experience no problems either. My Columbian friends do this regularly, in fact they leave it out for more than 1 night and always reheat after 2 days sometimes. They seem okay!
We are not sure why we are not affected but we've also not known anyone to get sick from our food who do not have this in their diet. It could be that some people live in quite clinically clean environments and are not able to fight off the bacteria before it grows into a problem.
My holistic team believe that if you are taking good probiotics (pill form or food) and keeping your immune function healthy, you should not suffer from any noticeable symptoms. But if you're prone to stomach issues or digestive disorders, we'd not recommend it.
We've also noticed that clients who live in the city, tend to suffer from bacteria related illnesses more than those in rural areas. This might have something to do with the exposure to pollution, toxins, 'dirt' and perhaps the quality of produce they eat. Most of our friends from all over the world live relatively healthy lives in the city and are not affected by rice food poisoning and we've yet to hear cases at our clinic.
However, we have to consider many factors before recommending any one to try potentially harmful food. It is ultimately up to you, how you feel about your health, your stomach and whether you've had an prior exposure to similar 'left-out' grains or starches in the past. How did you react then? Do you have food intolerances? Are you usually allergic to things? Do you have problems with your bowels? If you're not in top condition, don't take risks that could worsen your already weakened immune system to fighting off this bacteria, otherwise you will feel much worse.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2009/01/27/2475255.htm
http://motherwouldknow.com/how-long-can-you-leave-cooked-rice-unrefrigerated/
Regarding rice cookers, my Japanese rice cooker states that for health reasons, cooked rice is not to be eaten more than 12 hours after it is cooked, unless it is refrigerated within the first two hours of being cooked. It looks like Japan has some experience with the potential danger of mishandeling cooked rice.
In our affluent part of the world, what we choose to eat is an individual decision. With something as important as food, it's important to make it an INFORMED decision. I think this thread covered a lot of the different sides and opinions regarding the topic of cooked rice storage. Now it's up to each individual reader to choose how they wish to store their cooked rice.
Just a clarification, decimated means reduced by one tenth - perhaps you meant devastated? It's difficult because we cannot edit our posts on this form, so I'll assume you meant that they would be in a really bad way.
verb
past tense: decimated; past participle: decimated
1.
kill, destroy, or remove a large proportion of.
"the inhabitants of the country had been decimated"
Starchy food is a common medium for bacteria. There's apparently even something called 'Fried Rice Syndrome' associated with cooked rice left out too long at room temp - even frying it at hi-temps doesn't kill the spores that have formed:
Starchy foods, such as rice or potatoes, are commonly associated with B. cereus emetic (vomiting) toxin outbreaks. Due to its preparation process, one of the most common food vehicles for transmission of emetic B. cereus illness is fried rice, and there have been several reported outbreaks. The spores of B. cereus are activated in the initial preparation of the rice, which if stored at abusive temperatures (approximately 59 to 104°F or 15 to 40°C) for an extended time, will outgrow and produce a toxin that is heat stable and will not be inactivated during subsequent cooking.
And it isn't helped by cooking it again, as in fried rice, because it can survive high temperatures. So, strictly speaking it is not safe, if you eat it you are taking some level of risk by not properly refigerating it.
Voted the Best Reply!
Refrigerate rice as soon as possible after cooking.
*Pazhaya Soru*
Best rated Breakfast
American Nutrition Association says that the previous day's soaked rice is the best for breakfast, used to be the staple diet in Kerala and Tamilnadu, not so long ago...
Rice (Tanjana Facts)
Traditionally rice is cooked in the afternoon and excess water is drained. After the rice cools down to room temperature, it is soaked fully in water and stored in an earthen clay pot. This covered pot with soaked rice is left overnight at regular room temperature. The rice would ferment by the next morning and is eaten for breakfast. Traditionally, it is eaten with a side dish, raw onion or green chili. Some prefer to drain excess water and eat it with yogurt and a slight sprinkle of salt.
The lactic acid bacteria break down the anti-nutritional factors in rice resulting in an improved bioavailability of micro-nutrients and minerals such as iron, potassium and calcium by several thousand percentage points. For example, after 12 hours of fermentation of 100 grams of rice, the availability of iron changed from 3.4 mg to 73.91mg (an increase of 2073%).
In the agrarian communities of South East Asia, fermented rice played a big role in the lives of people. It gave the energy, the nutrition and the cooling effect that they needed for a full day of manual labor. Unfortunately, people moving up the food chain (or wealth chain, rather) looked down on fermented rice as the pauper’s food and ignored the great nutritional value it provides.
Food scientists who researched on the food practices among various regions in the world and concluded that the South Asia’s tradition of consuming the previous day's cooked rice soaked in plain water overnight, in the morning next day, as break-fast, is the best. It has the rare B6 B12 vitamins which are not otherwise easily available in other food supplements. This rice generates and harbors trillions of beneficial bacteria that help digestion and has many disease fighting and immunity developing agents. The bacteria that grow in the intestines due to this rice safeguard the internal organs and keep them fit and ready. Consuming this rice helps quicker digestion and wards off ageing, bone related ailments and muscular pains. Brown rice is the best for this as its nutrients are retained intact.
American Nutrition Association has listed the following benefits if you stick to the practice of consuming such soaked rice.
• Consuming this rice as breakfast keeps the body light and also .
• Beneficial bacteria get produced in abundance for the body.
• Stomach ailments disappear when this is consumed in the morning as excessive and harmful heat retained in the body is neutralized.
• As this food is very fibrous, it removes constipation and also dullness in the body.
• Blood pressure is normalized and hypertension subsides appreciably.
• Body feels less tired due to this food as a result of which one feels fresh throughout the day.
• This removes allergy induced problems and also skin-related ailments.
• It removes all types of ulcers in the body.
• Fresh infections are kept at bay due to consuming this rice.
• It helps in maintaining youthful and radiant look.
Consuming this takes away your body’s craving for tea or coffee. This is the richest source of vitamin B12 for vegans. So, do not throw away that extra rice you had cooked. It could be the healthiest breakfast you will ever have.