When does rice become poisonous when re-heated? Is this true?

Answer 1

not re heating rice enough can lead to food poisoning.. either mild where your stools are a little loose when you go to the toilet or full blown food poisoning..

Rice dishes can harbour the Bacillus cereus bacteria. The bacteria can form spores which are not easily destroyed by heat and will survive cooking of food. If food is cooled slowly or kept warm for some time before serving, the spores will germinate and produce bacteria. Bacteria can multiply rapidly at these temperatures and produce a very heat resistant toxin which will not be destroyed by subsequent reheating.

check the link below.. interesting and not too technical

Answer 2

When you cook rice it absorbs water which is why is swells up and becomes fluffy.
The water in the rice goes off very quickly and bugs start to multiply at an amazing speed.
I always avoid rice which has been kept warm for more than an hour.
It is okay to reheat rice as long as you make sure it is absolutely boiling hot because this will kill the bugs but its so cheap its best to just make it fresh every time you want it.
When on holiday only have rice from the buffet if you know its freshly cooked and still hot because the food poisoning from rice can be horrendous and spoil the rest of your holiday.
My friend got food poisoning on the last day and spent the whole 10 hour flight home on the loo. She had to be wheelchaired of the plane wrapped in a blanket carrying her soiled clothes an absolute nightmare.

Answer 3

I eat ALOT of rice and there are many occasions when i keep rice for later consumption. I can't say that rice becomes poisonous when re-heated but if you don't keep rice under good conditions, it goes bad and it could give you food poisoning. I keep rice in the fridge in an air tight container (like tupperware/glad ware) for 2 days max if I plan to reheat it. The good thing is that you can always tell if it's going bad by the smell of rice. If you open up the rice cooker / pot after you've just cooked rice, you can smell it's freshness. Once it's going bad it just smells sour and if it's already bad, there is an underlying smell might make you gag. It's really obvious especially after you re-heat. (unlike some other foods where you can't tell sometimes). So you can safely re-heat rice if you've kept it well. No, it is not poisonous but it can make you really sick if it's bad.

Answer 4

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 Bacillus cereus, 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 germinate into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins.

So, the longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria, or the toxins they produce, 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.

Remember that when you reheat any food, you should always check that it's piping hot all the way through, and avoid reheating more than once.

Answer 5

Its not poisonous but bacteria can make you ill if you dont treat the rice properly, if you cook rice and dont eat it all and want to save some, you need to cool it quickly and put in the fridge, then heat it throughly the next day to kill of the bugs, I didnt do this once and ended up with a dodgy tummy for a few days!

Answer 6

Partly... yes
When cooked rice is kept aside and becomes cold bacteria from surroundings settle in it.... but cannot breed or live as there is inadequate heat. when you take that rice and re heat it... you give enough heat for the bacteria to become active and spoil the food without being visible to the naked eye. If you consume that rice, you might suffer from food poisoning

Answer 7

NO NO NO!!!! Only if its been left out for 2days in a warm or room temperature place. I have to say, I'm chinese and rice is my main diet. I eat it everynight and have constantly reheated my dinners and have never had a case of a bad stomach from it! If it was the case that it becomes poisonous after reheating I think there would be government warnings about it! Please believe me, cooked rice is ok to eat when reheated. As long as its not been sitting for more than 2 days out of the fridge or more than 3days in the fridge - then it's gone 'out of date' and prob will give you a runny belly ache.

Answer 8

My ex-partner is a fully qualified chef with the full gamut of hygiene certificates and she has informed me that badly cooked or reheated or even badly stored rice is one of the major causes of food poisoning.

Only cook as much as you need and no more, if you do have some left over throw it away.

Answer 9

I've been eating left over rice for decades and I'm still going strong. Never even heard this one!
Don't you think restaurants would refuse to issue doggie bags for rice leftovers if this were true?

Answer 10

i got in one Xmas eve completely wasted was starving,so got a microwave curry meal out.my perception of time slightly off due to sambuca!!!! i only cooked it for 1 minute,thinking back the rice was a bit crunchy,spent the nxt 48 hours unable to enjoy festive activities as backside glued to toilet seat.
moral of the story:always cook rice properly or you will suffer my friend!