"Never eat reheated rice!" – This advice echoes across an increasing number of viral TikTok videos. The comment sections of these videos fill with bewildered and somewhat fearful messages: is it even safe to eat rice anymore?

The connection between rice and serious cases of food poisoning has been a global topic on social media for quite some time. Many have painted grim pictures of the dangers of rice consumption or reheating, urging people to altogether avoid it.

Fried Rice Syndrome or Reheated Rice Syndrome is a genuine danger, but it doesn't stem from frying rice or reheating it; rather, it arises from lapses in hygiene practices associated with these actions. We interviewed Marjut Huttula, a tester at Hygieniapassi.fi and a Master of Food Sciences, to delve deeper into the topic:

What exactly causes food poisoning in rice?

Rice can act as a vector for Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that causes food poisoning. B. cereus is a common bacterium in nature and exists in small quantities in foods such as rice. B. cereus is a spore-forming bacterium, meaning it produces highly resistant bacterial spores that are not destroyed at normal cooking temperatures. As the heated food cools, the spores can proliferate within the food and cause food poisoning for the consumer.

What hygiene practices can prevent food poisoning from rice? 

Typically, food poisoning caused by B. cereus results from excessively long storage times, slow cooling of food to an adequately cold temperature, or leaving food standing for too long at elevated temperatures, such as room temperature. For instance, food containing reheated rice should be cooled to +6 degrees Celsius within four hours if it's not kept hot after cooking, and it shouldn't be left at room temperature, where cooling is much slower and allows B. cereus spores to multiply.

Generally, food poisoning is prevented by proper heating and cooling practices, and adherence to these practices effectively prevents food poisoning from rice as well:

• When cooking food, the cooking temperature should be above +70 degrees Celsius, and for poultry, above +75 degrees Celsius.
• Food served hot should be maintained at a minimum temperature of +60 degrees Celsius.
• Cold food should be kept at a maximum temperature of +6 degrees Celsius.
• Food should be cooled to +6 degrees Celsius within a maximum of 4 hours after cooking, if not kept hot.
• The storage temperature for cold-stored food should not exceed +6 degrees Celsius.
• If reheating previously cooled food, the overall temperature of the food should exceed +70 degrees Celsius.

What would you say to people concerned about rice poisoning?

If food poisoning caused by B. cereus from rice is a concern, an effective preventive measure is to follow the aforementioned guidelines for heating and cooling food. Another good practice is to only prepare as much rice as needed for a single meal, as prolonged storage of cooked rice increases the risk of B. cereus-related food poisoning.

All foods, including rice, can pose a risk of food poisoning, which is why precise hygiene practices must be observed even in home-cooked meals!

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