Most people love rice as it is relatively easy to prepare and it blends with a variety of stews to form a delicious meal.
However, reheating the rice after first cooking can lead to food poisoning if you are not careful as the United Kingdom’s National Health Service cautions.
Reheating the rice in itself is harmless but poor handling of cooked rice exposes it to bacteria which cause food poisoning. This is because uncooked rice contains spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacteria responsible for food poisoning.
The bacteria can survive even after cooking the rice and continues to multiply at room temperature if the rice is left to sit for more than one hour. Eating rice containing bacteria causes vomiting and diarrhoea due to the toxins they release.
However, you can minimize the health risks of reheated rice by following these guidelines which are laid down by the National Health Service;
1. Ideally, serve rice as soon as it has been cooked.
2. If that isn't possible, cool the rice as quickly as possible (ideally within 1 hour).
3. Keep rice in the fridge for no more than 1 day until reheating.
4. When you reheat any rice, always check the dish is steaming hot all the way through.
5. Do not reheat rice more than once.