can reheating rice cause food poisoning?

March 17, 2012 3:23am CST
i really don't know reheating rice causes food poisoning but yesterday itself upseted my stomach after having reheated rice.
1 person likes this
7 responses
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
17 Mar 12
Boiled rice is known to be a good breeding ground for bacteria. It should not be left in the refrigerator for more than a day before being reheated and it is best to reuse it by cooking at a high temperature (such as frying) in order to kill any bacteria. Another food which it is dangerous to keep for long is sliced or cut onion. When onion cells are damaged, they are very prone to be a harbour for bacteria.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
17 Mar 12
I found this article: http://www.abc.net.au/health/talkinghealth/factbuster/stories/2009/01/27/2475255.htm and many others which suggest that Bacillus cereus is the main culprit and very commonly causes short term food poisoning.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
17 Mar 12
Specific advice for storing rice is here: http://www.aglugofoil.com/2009/03/storing-cooked-rice-safely-avoid-food.html It seems that the bacteria will produce toxins in carelessly stored cooked rice which are NOT destroyed by reheating, so it is dangerous to eat rice which has not been stored as advised, even if it is recooked.
• India
7 Feb 13
Thanks for sharing. I don't think so, if the cooked rice was covered and kept in freeze it will never get poisoned iby simple reheating
• Philippines
17 Mar 12
It is called poisoning if the rice is already spoiled and eaten at the same time. Better store the left over rice in the fridge with cover so it will be cooked the next day, you can turn it into fried rice.
@pbbbsra (1214)
• Philippines
17 Mar 12
I don't think that reheating rice will cause food poisoning. Not unless if the food is already spoiled even before you reheat it. I usually check on the rice before I reheat it the next day. If the rice smells sour, that is a sign that it is spoiled or if it is already watery. I also make sure I put the left over rice in the ref at night so that I can use it for fried rice the next day.
@NailTech (6874)
• United States
17 Mar 12
How old was this rice? Was it plain or mixed with other stuff like onions, etc.? It might have been going bad by the time you reheated it. Did you leave it out for very long before you refrigerated it? Things like that can happen for so many reasons other than the rice itself.
@Sindrum91 (254)
• United States
17 Mar 12
I have reheated rice plenty of times and never had a problem. But i have read that rice contains a certain bacteria, I don't recall the name unfortunately. I believe it depends on the way the rice is stored for the bacteria to even have any effect on you. I also think you would probably have to eat a lot of it to notice. I could be wrong I really don't remember exactly what it is called or if I am accurate. But as i stated prior, I have reheated rice quite a bit. And i don't think it has ever effected me in an ill way. Maybe it is old? Could it be something you added to the rice? Hope you feel better.
@ardoy0731 (7308)
• Philippines
17 Mar 12
If the rice you have reheat is quite spoiling it could really upset your stomach that sometimes lead to LBM.Better check if it is still okay to eat before reheating and eating it.