So a couple of weeks ago, I went to a restaurant I frequent for cheap, quick Hong Kong cafe food (fried rice with broiled saucy pork chops on top, fried chicken wings, tapioca drinks, etc.) and ordered fried rice for breakfast. Since I’ve eaten there before, I didn’t think anything of it.
A couple of hours later while at a friend’s post-Christmas party, I suddenly felt like I had the flu: muscle aches, fever, and running to the bathroom every hour or so. First, I thought I suddenly was allergic to cats (again), so my friend gave me some allergy meds. That didn’t work. Considering I had some stomach symptoms, my friend brewed me some really strong tea. After a few cups of that, most of the symptoms went away.
I remembered from my microbiology class that there’s a certain species of bacteria, called Bacillus, that is the cause of many types of food poisoning. Going through my notes, I found out that a particular type, Bacillus cereus, is the cause of the illness I had that day: fried rice syndrome.
B. cereus apparently lives in uncooked rice but is very hardy and can survive even when the rice is first being steamed. When the cooked rice is left out in a warm environment (and not in the refrigerator), B. cereus can grow and multiply. Even when the resulting rice is fried, the heat and oil don’t kill it. In fact, the oil helps to promote growth in B. cereus until the rice gets eaten. People either end up throwing up or having diarrhea as a result. Considering I only ate a small amout of the rice, I only had muscle cramps and felt like crap. If I had eaten the whole thing, it would’ve been a lot worse, as many people who have fried rice syndrome often have to go to the emergency room.
Fried rice syndrome is totally different and not to be confused with MSG syndrome, a psychosomatic disorder where physical symptoms are caused by the racist belief that MSG is in Asian foods and causes abdominal symptoms. Funny how people who have this can eat non-Asian foods that are loaded with MSG, like cheese, mushrooms, and peas, and don’t have these same symptoms. But I digress.
In another interesting factoid, a different species of Bacillus, B. subtilis, is the organism that helps make natto, or Japanese fermented soybeans, and is totally edible without any ill effects. Well, depending on who you talk to; some people think natto is nasty. I like natto myself.
So the moral of the story is if you want to make fried rice, put the rice in the fridge after you’re done steaming the rice and before you fry it. And if you order fried rice in a restaurant, order it in the evening, when the rice is more likely to be fresher and not subject to being left outside for extended periods of time.
(Flickr photo credit: June, B. cereus photo via Dave Love’s blog)
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23 Comments to “Fried Rice Syndrome, or You Can’t B. cereus!”
Cynthia wrote:
What’s the name of the restaurant you had the rice at? That would be helpful. Thanks!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 2:53 pm | Permalink
Efren wrote:
And risk getting hit with a lawsuit from the restaurant without any documented proof? No thanks!
It actually is quite common–and from anecdotes from friends, lots of people leave their cooked rice out overnight. I used to leave my rice out until I took microbio–and now I only cook as much as I can eat, and refrigerate my leftover rice, and throw it out after it’s been in the fridge for a day.
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 3:01 pm | Permalink
Ernie wrote:
(Ernie has horrified look on his face, writes on his hand to throw out his rice when he gets home immediately)
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 3:06 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
Ernie,
Reason #127834621394 you need to empty your rice cooker after you’re done making it:
http://www.jozjozjoz.com/2005/01/27/i-interrupt-dinner-preparation-to-bring-you-this/
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 3:33 pm | Permalink
Efren wrote:
Joz!
Ewww…..why did you have to bring that back?!!!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 3:49 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
Efren!
Why did you have to ruin fried rice for the rest of us?!!!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 3:51 pm | Permalink
Efren wrote:
Ruin it? you just have to be careful about it!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 3:52 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
If by “careful” you mean never eating it again, then you’ve ruined it!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 3:57 pm | Permalink
Efren wrote:
I didn’t say you couldn’t eat it–you just have to be aware of when to eat it–or cook it yourself.
you CAN cook fried rice, right?
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:03 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
Yes, I can cook fried rice, but our rice cooker is small so we rarely make so much that there is leftover rice for fried rice.
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:05 pm | Permalink
Efren wrote:
Can’t blame ME for that now, can you?!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:07 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
No, I can’t.
But I just want to say. Of the hundreds and thousands of times I’ve heard of people eating fried rice, ONLY YOU have ever admitted to getting sick by it.
Weak!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:08 pm | Permalink
Efren wrote:
Bleh–I’m sure plenty of people have gotten sick by eating fried rice–but never admitted it.
I just needed a blog post. Don’t hate.
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:09 pm | Permalink
jozjozjoz wrote:
WEAK!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:11 pm | Permalink
Ernie wrote:
GIRLS, GIRLS! YOU’RE BOTH PRETTY.
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:31 pm | Permalink
Xxxtine wrote:
my mouth is permanently agape with my left hand cover it thanks to that photo Joz
*hurl*
in other news, I rarely ever eat fried rice if I don’t know who made it. I say if you’re in doubt, eat it with a side of kimchi – that should kill it.
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:43 pm | Permalink
Moye wrote:
Wait, so am I the only one with the high tech rice cooker that keeps your freshly cooked rice warm until you turn it off?
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:50 pm | Permalink
Moye wrote:
Wait, AHHH, does warm environment = kept hot in the rice cooker????!? Am I going to have diarrhea tonight???
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 4:51 pm | Permalink
Cynthia wrote:
Gotcha. Well, anyway, I’m sorry that this happened to you, Efren. It’s never fun to be sick.
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 5:34 pm | Permalink
YvesPaul wrote:
OMG, you’re about to send the whole Asian population into panic. I love HK Cafe food!
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 6:22 pm | Permalink
nova wrote:
lucky you for only eating a few bites. that would have never happened with me – which means i probably would have been in the bathroom all night. there was so much science here! love it.
Posted on 07-Jan-09 at 7:22 pm | Permalink
Linda wrote:
i had no idea ur not supposed to leave cooked rice out- my mom does it all the time! thanks for informing us. btw, do cats really make u run to the bathroom every hour or so?
Posted on 08-Jan-09 at 5:57 am | Permalink
A wrote:
Just so you all don’t freak out. B. Cereus is fairly rare. Of all the food poisonings that can occur in pretty much any meal you eat that you dont prepare yourself, it only accounts for from 3-5%. You are MUCH more likely to get food poisoning from any of the following: raw vegetables, ie. salad, lettuce on your sandwich, mayonnaise or chicken.
So stop freaking out, your fried rice is probably safe. If it hasnt killed you up till now, its probably not going to again. If youre young and health, the worst (kind of) thing that could happen is some diarrhea or vomiting for a few hours.
-A med student with an MPH in infectious disease
Posted on 09-Jan-09 at 11:53 am | Permalink
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