will I be poisoned?!

tawnyowls

The official advice from the EatWell.gov.uk website is:

There are a few things to remember when you are storing and reheating cooked rice and grains. This is because the spores of some food poisoning bugs can survive cooking.
You should throw away any rice and grains that have been left at room temperature overnight.

So best to chuck, probably. In the bin, that is.

Gingham_Ribbon

manicdays wrote:

I left the cous cous out overnight. It was covered. It contains chickpeas, grilled peppers, spring onions & a bit of olive oil. I put it in the fridge when I got up.

Wouldn't normally be bothered but I don't want to have an upset tummy at a-ha tonight.

Did you know I am going to see a-ha tonight?! :rolleyes:

Lisa x

I would bin it. It's too hot to leave stuff out of the fridge overnight.

But I really just wanted to say how jealous I am about a-ha! Have a great time.

Stratford_Bill

I am old enough to remember a time when the family did not have a refridgerator. Leaving food out overnight was normal. I think it will be perfectly edible. The places where tapioca is indigenous are a lot hotter than this place anyway.

sali_mali

I'm not sure if this is true (and the OPer is probably already at the concert by now anyway!) but I've always heard that hings like rice and cous cous are the worst for food poisoning. Like with left over curry or something, it's the rice that gets you, not the meat

Stratford_Bill

Hi Sali_Mali
I am afraid it is the opposite that is true. The fastest way to get food poisoning is to let anything get near raw meat or do something like chopping vegetables on a board where raw meat has just been cut. According to Dr Vernon Coleman, vegetarians get food poisoning far less frequently than carnivores. During my vegetarian period, I found this seemed to be the case.

Swan_2

Stratford_Bill wrote:

Hi Sali_Mali
I am afraid it is the opposite that is true. The fastest way to get food poisoning is to let anything get near raw meat or do something like chopping vegetables on a board where raw meat has just been cut. According to Dr Vernon Coleman, vegetarians get food poisoning far less frequently than carnivores. During my vegetarian period, I found this seemed to be the case.

while it's true that cross-contamination is a major source of food-poisoning, sali_mali's right, rice can contain toxins ... info below from the Food Standards Agency website ...

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 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

more info can be found HERE

I have to say that personally I've never had any problems with previously cooked rice in salads, stir fries etc, but maybe I've just been lucky

couscous is made from wheat, so afaik, won't suffer from the same problems

hells_2

But surely the food poison spores live in the rice because it's nice and damp and comfy in all that fluffiness! lol!

Be sure to heat it up very very well I would say, or just eat it cold (refrigerated of course!). I got a case of the abdabs once when a lass at work fetched us in a buffet, including some ready to heat cold rice which she did not heat properly in microwave......ten minutes later............bleurgh!

It's not nice! I'd go with option B, have a butty! lol

manicdays

Ohhh, more replies. I have to confess! I ate it. And I have lived to tell the tale!!!!!!

Thanks all!!!!

Lisa x