3 ms·

Huh, is this bad? I typically cook enough rice in a rice cooker for two days and leave it out and haven't had any adverse symptoms...

by scarmig 13y ago

tedunangst 13y ago
There are probably fewer people coughing and sneezing in your kitchen than the average restaurant. :)
djeikyb 13y ago
It's considered a dangerous practice. The general rule is food has four hours outside of its proper storage environment before it must be thrown away. Eg, leave the milk on the counter for an hour, put it back in the fridge, leave it out another three hours, and now you should throw it out. I don't have a link, but I'm citing ServSafe, a program that nationally certifies people for food safety (targeted to federal and state requirements for food service). You might also consider the ambient temp of your kitchen. Pro kitchens run several hours a day, staying fairly warm the whole time (might have several ovens, tens of burners, and other hot equipment running throughout the day). Your kitchen, even with the rice cooker going, might stay fairly cool, and so bad bacteria has less time to grow. Food safety is also talked about in terms of risk to different groups. Young children, pregnant mothers, and old adults are at higher risk than younger adults.
- sk5t 13y ago
  Two hours between 39F-140F is the official limit. This may be a bit conservative depending on one's consitution, gut flora, etc. (I've gone almost 20 years without losing my lunch, eating at hundreds of restaurants from spotless to quite dodgy over that period, so who knows...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety)
DanBC 13y ago
Rice is a major cause of food poisoning. http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/Can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning.aspx?CategoryID=51&SubCategoryID=215 http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/Can-reheating-rice-cause-food-po... > You can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. However, it's not the reheating that causes the problem but the way the rice has been stored before it was reheated. > Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. > If the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. > The longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that the bacteria or toxins could make the rice unsafe to eat. Reheating the rice does kill the bacteria, but does nothing to the toxins.

Huh, is this bad? I typically cook enough rice in a rice cooker for two days and leave it out and haven't had any adverse symptoms...

by scarmig 13y ago

Huh, is this bad? I typically cook enough rice in a rice cooker for two days and leave it out and haven't had any adverse symptoms...

tedunangst 13y ago

There are probably fewer people coughing and sneezing in your kitchen than the average restaurant. :)

djeikyb 13y ago

It's considered a dangerous practice. The general rule is food has four hours outside of its proper storage environment before it must be thrown away. Eg, leave the milk on the counter for an hour, put it back in the fridge, leave it out another three hours, and now you should throw it out. I don't have a link, but I'm citing ServSafe, a program that nationally certifies people for food safety (targeted to federal and state requirements for food service). You might also consider the ambient temp of your kitchen. Pro kitchens run several hours a day, staying fairly warm the whole time (might have several ovens, tens of burners, and other hot equipment running throughout the day). Your kitchen, even with the rice cooker going, might stay fairly cool, and so bad bacteria has less time to grow. Food safety is also talked about in terms of risk to different groups. Young children, pregnant mothers, and old adults are at higher risk than younger adults.

sk5t 13y ago
Two hours between 39F-140F is the official limit. This may be a bit conservative depending on one's consitution, gut flora, etc. (I've gone almost 20 years without losing my lunch, eating at hundreds of restaurants from spotless to quite dodgy over that period, so who knows...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danger_zone_(food_safety)

DanBC 13y ago

Rice is a major cause of food poisoning. http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/Can-reheating-rice-cause-food-poisoning.aspx?CategoryID=51&SubCategoryID=215 http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/Can-reheating-rice-cause-food-po... > You can get food poisoning from eating reheated rice. However, it's not the reheating that causes the problem but the way the rice has been stored before it was reheated. > Uncooked rice can contain spores of Bacillus cereus, a bacterium that can cause food poisoning. When the rice is cooked, the spores can survive. > If the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria. These bacteria will multiply and may produce toxins (poisons) that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. > The longer cooked rice is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that the bacteria or toxins could make the rice unsafe to eat. Reheating the rice does kill the bacteria, but does nothing to the toxins.