Bacteria present in cooked rice has been identified by a British study, sounding the alarm over the use of microwaves.
The microwave oven is a practical, easy-to-use and time-saving appliance that has become indispensable in many kitchens. However, it is not without risks. There are lots of risks associated with using a microwave oven, including burns, poor cooking, fire outbreaks and health risks. A recent British study has highlighted a new, lesser-known risk: reheating rice in a microwave. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has found bacteria in cooked rice. The study, which was published at the beginning of 2022 in the International Journal of Food Biology, found that the bacterium, called Bacillus Cereus, develops in cooked rice left at room temperature.
The heat from microwaving kills these tiny organisms, but if you take it out of the oven and leave it at room temperature, it’ll develop spores that are harmful to health. What are the potential risks? The researchers say that the main issue is digestive problems, but they also point to cases of food poisoning leading to diarrhoea and vomiting. If we take on board what this study is saying, it would be better to avoid taking your leftover stir-fried rice or Cantonese rice, which was cooked the day before and simply reheated in the canteen microwave the following day.
The Buitoni scandal has already made people think twice about using the microwave.
It had already been suggested that microwaves might be a factor in the rise in cases when the Buitoni pizza scandal hit in spring 2022. When we asked experts about the rise in serious cases of food poisoning after pizzas were contaminated with E. coli bacteria, they warned against cooking in microwaves and said that frozen pizzas should be cooked in a traditional oven. They said that cooking pizzas at 200 degrees would reduce the risk of contamination by getting rid of any bacteria that might be harmful to health.
