Coined by experts, ‘fried rice syndrome’ is a type of food poisoning from a bacterium called ‘bacillus cereus’. It becomes a risk to people in certain cooked foods that are kept unrefrigerated for a period of time.
Why is it bad to leave food out?
But why fried rice? The name comes from documented cases of food poisoning caused from unrefrigerated cooked rice used to make fried rice in restaurants.
“The cooked rice is kept at an inappropriate temperature, warm enough that the spores can germinate and the spores make a heat-stable toxin,” explained Dr Cynthia Sears to an American news outlet, an expert on food-borne infections and professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University
Basically, when the bacteria is present in cooked food, it releases toxins when left unrefrigerated. It has been discovered that bacillus cereus will usually grow in starchy foods such as rice and pasta, but it has also been frequently detected in protein-rich food so it’s important to store foods correctly to prevent the risk of food poisoning.
Which are some of the most dangerous foods at risk of food poisoning?
Food Standards Australia (FSA) has compiled a list of foods they have deemed potentially hazardous. These foods need to be kept at certain temperatures to minimise the risk of food poisoning.
Some of these foods include:
- Cooked rice
- Cooked pasta
- Foods containing eggs
- Raw and cooked meat and poultry
- Seafood
- Dairy products and some foods containing dairy
How do I prevent the risk of food poisoning?
It’s important to cool foods correctly after they have been cooked to prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms and toxins. Food Standards Australia recommends cooling potentially hazardous foods from 60°C to 21°C in two hours or less, then cooled further from 21°C to 5°C in four hours or less. When reheating these foods, they should reach 60°C or hotter in ideally two hours or less. Avoid reheating multiple times.
Tips for cooling down foods include:
- Dividing food into smaller portions and storing in shallow food-safe containers
- Stirring liquid foods to promote cooling
- Using water or ice water baths
- Checking the temperature of foods with a thermometer
Freezer-friendly recipes
Freezing foods and meal prepping is a fantastic way to save time, reduce the stress of deciding what to eat, can often save you money in the long run and minimise food waste. When freezing, be sure to follow the correct advice for cooling foods from FSA, use air-tight containers, and wrap in aluminium foil and cling wrap for slices and cakes.
Here are some of our favourite freezer-friendly recipes:
Cheesy vegetarian ‘sausage’ rolls
Get-ahead chorizo and chicken jambalaya
Spaghetti, pepperoni and lentil bake
For more recipe ideas, go to taste.com.au or check out the Taste Test Kitchen now.
Originally published as Fried rice syndrome: Why you should not leave food out
