Re heated rice

I never knew about the danger of re heating rice, so I've certainly learned something from you all today. Thank you.

My husband, who used to be a Chef in the Royal Navy, says you should never reheat rice. I looked at the Government national food archives and it says: A. It's true that you could get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. But it's not actually the reheating that's the problem – it's the way the rice has been stored before reheating.

"Uncooked rice can contain spores of bacteria that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will multiply and may produce poisons that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these poisons.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that poisons produced could stop the rice being safe to eat.

It's best to serve rice when it has just been cooked. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within one hour) and keep it in the fridge for no more than one day until reheating."

We never have any left over rice as the dogs love it. It is so easy to cook from fresh with our microwave rice cooker and with forum reporting people being ill it is not worth the risk

I never used to eat re heated rice, however my Taiwanese Dil always uses the left over rice for fried rice the following day. She always cools and refrigerates (or freezes it) on the same day. She has cooked fried rice many many times for us on her visits to England. It is truly delicious and I now do the same myself, everyone in the family from 2 year old upwards love it and not one of them has suffered any ill effects,

Tegan, you say in your post 'having re heated rice for many years before I read an article saying not to' - if you were doing it for many years without any ill effects is it really a problem? Just asking.

Louizalass you are spot on. I am an Environmental Health Officer so I know what I'm talking about. It never fails to amaze me how many people say about any poor hygiene practice " I've done this for years and not been ill so it must be OK". No! It just means that you have been lucky and/or are less susceptible to such bacterial toxins. Children, the chronically sick and the elderly may be affected badly by Bacillus cereus toxins.

If you cook your own rice and want to eat it later, cool it quickly ( less than an hour) and refrigerate. Either use cold in a salad which is not then left at room temperature or reheat above 75 degrees C and eat straight away. Either way use within 24 hours.If you have left over rice from a take away throw it away. You cannot know whether the rice has already been reheated so it is not worth the risk. I would only give freshly cooked rice to a child.

I do use leftover rice, but I cool it immediately by putting it in a seive and rinsing it with cold water then straight in to the fridge.

I will never re-heat rice. As I once did a food hygiene course and this was the one food we were told we should never re-heat, because of the bacteria that arises from doing same. Something about spores. I cant find literature now but that is what I remember. If I ever have any left over I just eat it cold.

Oh I've just noticed Immiesnana's reply, so she's said it could be affected by Bacillus cereus toxins

I had my worst-ever bout of food poisoning after eating re-heated rice (not re-heated by me), had environmental health officer involved; please don't risk it.

I enjoy M&S microwavable meals wiith riice. Theyre in store refrigereated and go straight into the fridge or freezer before use. Also buy their Basmati rìce which I enjoy wirh fish or cooked chicken insteac of veggies or oven french fries.
Presume this is safe ?

Hi Welshwife, my son lives in Japan and they use their rice cooker same as your Thai family. I was horrified at first but having spent 7 weeks eating rice this way lasy year with no I'll effects I am a little less fussy but do always chill overnight at home

Don't think I would fancy reheated takeaway of anything. But I have always reheated rise, cool quickly after cooking, put in the fridge and reheat thoroughly next day, sometimes I make double quantity and do egg fried rice with it.

Sorry rice not rise

Many years ago I used to teach food hygeine to caterers - ive forgotten the detail but i know all the text books said NEVER reheat cooked rice as it can cause botulism which is very serious involving paralysis. Same toxin as botox which paralyses facial muscles. Having saidthat i do heat Rice in ready prepared meals occasionally as i assume they have been treated so as to be safe.

Chrissy..its not me eating rice that I'm worried about but my one year old granddaughter. She had a bad tummy last week and I was concerned that it was something she ate.

The same as K8tie, I always cook extra rice and freeze it in zip lock baggies. I Reheat it thoroughly and have never experienced any problems. Perhaps some of the illnesses pertaining to rice could be attributed to contaminated water used for cooking, especially in foreign countries, where your stomach is not used to all the little "bugs" that don't seem to bother someone born and raised there. This is actually the first time I've ever heard that reheated rice can make a person sick. Good to know.

People in the far east reheat rice by frying it in a hot wok. They have been doing this since before refridgeration. I ate a lot of fried rice in Thailand (including in places with no refridgeration) and never had a problem. I think the temperature you reheat it to and the thoroughness of the reheating are what make the difference. People for whom rice is a staple have clearly sorted this out long since.

Which is not to deny that cooked rice can be risky if it is not subjected to the right treatment. But that applies to most already cooked and reheated foods.

The only time I've ever had food poisoning was at an all-inclusive hotel in Majorca. There was an outbreak of salmonella and I had it but my friend didn't. I blamed the rice as it was the only difference in what we had had to eat.