Why You Should Think Twice Before Eating Leftover Rice

Cooking night after night can be frustrating. One way to take the monotony out of it is to meal prep at the beginning of the week so that dinner is ready when you want it. That means you can cook things like chicken breasts, veggies, and other side dishes ahead of time, including pasta. But if you’re a big fan of rice, you might want to think twice about reheating leftovers.

There is a small but very real chance that eating that leftover rice or pasta could give you food poisoning. The effects are sometimes referred to as “fried rice syndrome,” because fried rice is usually made with leftover rice. Old rice can not only make your stomach miserable, it could even land you in the emergency room.

Below we explain why you might not want to prepare a large portion of rice for the coming week, and how to properly store and prepare rice to prevent possible food poisoning.

For more health tips, check out 12 probiotic foods that will make your stomach happy, and why the ‘rizempic’ trend could be dangerous.

Why is there a risk of food poisoning if I eat leftover rice?

All types of uncooked rice may contain traces of Bacillus cereusa bacterium that can cause gastrointestinal illness such as vomiting or diarrhea. The spores are heat-resistant and do not die when cooked. When the rice cools and is in the food hazard zone of between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheitthe bacteria begins to reproduce rapidly. There are approximately 63,400 cases of food poisoning from Bacillus cereus each year in the U.S., according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The biggest risk of food poisoning occurs when rice is left out of the refrigerator for more than an hour — that’s when the bacteria spores can multiply dramatically. The bacteria aren’t a problem if you eat the rice right away. Illness is much more common when rice is left out for a few hours, put in the refrigerator, and eaten a few days later. If your rice is left out for two hours or at 90 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour, you should throw it out, according to Food Network.

What is the best way to store rice to avoid food poisoning?

To avoid food poisoning, refrigerate leftover rice immediately after cooking. The National Health Service advises ideally store the rice within an hour — and limit the time you leave leftover rice in the refrigerator.

Be careful though, and don’t put a hot container of food in the refrigerator, as this can increase the temperature of other foods and possibly cause bacteria to grow there too. Food Network advises to divide the large amount of rice into smaller containers and let the rice cool to room temperature (about 21 degrees Celsius).

The NHS recommends not keeping your rice in the fridge for more than a day before reheating, while the US Department of Agriculture FoodKeeper app says you can keep cooked rice for four to six days. Food Network says you can continue to reheat the rice for the three to four days it’s stored, while the NHS recommends not reheating more than once.

What is the safest way to reheat leftover rice?

If you plan on reheating your rice, make sure it comes out of the microwave or off the stovetop steaming hot with an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. And the next time you have a craving for rice, limit the amount you make to what you and your dinner companions plan to eat that day. This will also help prevent food waste, in addition to the benefits of avoiding food poisoning.