Even if something tastes good the day you ate it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s good the next day or even good for you the next day. The truth is, some of your leftovers could be making you sick.
Leftover Rules
As a general rule, if the texture of your food has changed, find something else to eat.
A layer of slimy film is a solid reason to toss the food.
If you’re still unsure about the status of your leftovers check the food’s texture. If food feels slimy or otherwise has a drastic texture change, then it is likely spoiled.
On big eating days like Thanksgiving, leftovers can pose the risk of exposing people to foodborne illnesses if they aren’t prepared or stored properly.
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People have a habit of leaving the food out on the buffet table long after the meal is finished.
As a general rule, if turkey, stuffing, or gravy is left out at room temperature (40 to 140°F) for over 2 hours it may no longer be safe to eat.
1. Potatoes
To put it bluntly, reheating leftover potatoes could make you sick.
As the Independent reported, the issue with reheating potatoes isn’t actually the process of warming them in the microwave or oven. If cooked potatoes are left to cool at room temperature for too long, the bacteria that causes botulism may form. This is actually made more likely if the potatoes are wrapped tightly in foil.
2. Scrambled Eggs/Casserole
If your plate of scrambled eggs is cold by the time you butter your toast, it’s fine to pop it in the microwave for a minute or two. However, the Food and Drug Administration advised that reheating eggs that have been sitting around for even a short while can be dangerous.
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According to the FDA, you should never leave eggs or dishes containing eggs out of the refrigerator for more than two hours or more than one hour in hot weather. This means that it’s definitely not okay to reheat a casserole that was left out for serving at a party or a slice of quiche brought home from a restaurant. Bacteria such as salmonella can multiply rapidly in egg dishes and lead to serious food poisoning.
Have you ever brought home leftovers from a Chinese restaurant to enjoy the next day?
If you included rice in your take-home container, you may want to reconsider.
3. Seafood
Most of us like a little seafood every now and again, but beware when you try to reheat it. According to the FDA, fresh seafood that was caught and immediately frozen should be safe to reheat. However, fresh or cooked seafood that has spent any time at room temperature might be harboring bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. Reheating may not kill these bacteria, and it can be hard to know how seafood was previously stored if you are buying it fresh.
The FDA also recommended that seafood should be discarded if left out of the refrigerator for more than two hours in cool weather or one hour in warm weather. Bacteria can grow rapidly on seafood at any temperature between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Chicken
We love a good roasted, baked, or even fried chicken. But even after cooking, chicken tends to spoil faster than other meats.
According to the USDA, cooked chicken should be left in the refrigerator for no longer than four days. Although the fridge slows the growth of pathogens and bacteria, it does not completely stop the spread of E. coli, salmonella, and other foodborne illnesses. Listeria is one bacteria that thrives at cold temperatures in cooked chicken. According to the CDC, listeria causes flu-like symptoms and can be potentially lethal for high-risk populations, including adults over 65, people who are pregnant, and immunocompromised individuals.
5. Rice
Reheated rice could be a quick path to getting you a nasty case of food poisoning.
Why You Shouldn’t Reheat Rice
No one likes to waste food, which is why so many people bring home their leftover rice to eat the following day. Few think of rice as being a food likely to cause food-borne illness, but it is, especially if it’s improperly handled.
Raw rice may contain spores of bacteria called Bacillus cereus. These spores form to protect the bacteria from heat and other outside influences, and they aren’t easily destroyed – even by cooking. Even though Bacillus cereus spores aren’t readily eliminated by cooking, eating rice is unlikely to cause food poisoning if the rice is kept hot before serving – and not allowed to set around on a counter at room temperature. If this happens, the spores can germinate into active bacteria. For this reason, rice should always be served immediately after it’s prepared.
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Does Reheating Rice to a High Temperature Kill the Bacteria?
Bacillus cereus spores aren’t easily destroyed by heat, so even if you reheat rice to a high temperature, you won’t necessarily kill them – and the heat can actually activate them so they’re able to cause food poisoning. The only way to avoid this problem is to cook rice thoroughly and cool it very quickly before storing it in the refrigerator – without letting it cool down to room temperature slowly. If it’s done properly, it’s safe to reheat rice no more than one time, but make sure it’s heated thoroughly.
What are the Symptoms of Rice Food Poisoning?
The bacillus cereus bacteria that cause rice food poisoning produce an enterotoxin that causes vomiting or diarrhea. If a person is unfortunate enough to ingest some of the spores, symptoms of nausea and vomiting usually appear pretty quickly – within four or five hours. There’s another form of rice food poisoning from bacillus cereus that takes longer to develop (eight to twenty hours) and mainly has symptoms of diarrhea and abdominal cramping.
READ: Is Your Rice Safe?
Don’t Reheat Rice from a Restaurant
Bringing home rice is dangerous, especially if you don’t know how it was prepared. The rice has the opportunity to set at room temperature before it can be refrigerated, which allows the spores to germinate. If you take home leftovers from a restaurant–leave the rice behind. That includes fried rice, which is the culprit in many cases of rice food poisoning. Don’t take chances with your health by reheating restaurant rice at home.
6. BBQ Leftovers
One would think that as long as the meat is cooked, it should be good to eat anytime after that, right? Well, not really. As with other hot foods, once barbecue is removed from the heat source and drops below the safe temperature of 140 F, it must be eaten or refrigerated within 2 hours. If the room temperature—or outside temperature for cookouts—is 90 F or above, you have only 1 hour to eat or store it.
When it comes to reheating leftover barbecue, low and slow is the best method. A slow to the moderate oven—300 F to 325 F—works well. Keep the barbecue covered so it won’t dry out, and stir it occasionally. Or reheat it in a covered skillet or saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently. The microwave oven can is another option, but it tends to heat unevenly. If you do use the microwave, make sure you turn the container and stir the barbecue frequently. Check the food in several places with an instant-read thermometer to make sure the barbecue has reached 165 F, the minimum safe temperature for leftovers.
Avoid re-smoking meats, as they can become bitter. Because it takes so long to reach a safe temperature, you should never use the slow cooker to reheat leftovers.
Barbecue frozen in vacuum-sealed can be defrosted in the refrigerator and then reheated right in the bag. A 1-pound vacuum-sealed bag of barbecue will take about 15 minutes to cook in simmering—just below the boiling point, or about 190 F—water. Allow extra time if the meat is still frozen.
