18 September 2023 , 10:57
1147
0
Leftovers are a great way to save money by stretching your meals a little further - and they reduce food waste, which is important given a quarter of Brits generate a 'lot' of food waste". But reheating your food can have its dangers - one student recently died after eating pasta left out at room temperature, as they experienced liver necrosis and acute pancreatitis.
'Fried rice syndrome' is the nickname for a type of food poisoning which occurs in reheated foods like potatoes, pasta and rice. These dry foods contain a bacterium called Bacillus cereus which produces a toxin when heated and left out too long, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
One chef has spoken out about the "one sure-fire way of not being killed by your own food" he learned at work. "I learned to follow the 40, 140, 4 rule. Basically it means if you let your food sit for four hours between the temperatures of 40 degrees Fahrenheit and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, you need to throw it out. That's what restaurants are told to do." This translates to between 4.4C to 37.8C.
Jon Kung, a professional cook from Detroit, has 1.7 million followers on his TikTok channel, where he shares his cooking advice and recipes to people. "If I ate a grilled chicken breast that was fully cooked that had been sitting on my countertop for six hours, will I immediately die? Probably not. Will I get sick? Maybe. But I'm a pretty healthy individual. If I were elderly, immuno-compromised or very young that risk is higher. But for everyone, the longer you let that chicken sit there between 40 and 140 degrees, that risk goes up for everyone," he stated.
Many people were shocked to realise the risk of food poisoning. "I have no idea how I'm still alive. My parents broke this rule every single day of my childhood" one person said. Another person added: "This is actually more dependent on the power of your fridge these days. Modern ones can handle cooling down pretty warm food."
'I don't want children staying up late at weekends - I really need adult time'
One person asked, "After cooking I thought we were supposed to let things cool down before refrigeration, I'm assuming that's above 140 then?" to which Kung responded "This is actually more dependent on the power of your fridge these days. Modern ones can handle cooling down pretty warm food."
How long do you leave pasta out before putting in the fridge?