Once again, TikTok has spurred intense conversations relating to food safety. In recent weeks, a 2008 news story resurfaced on the social media platform, terrifying users about the dangers of eating reheated leftover starches, particularly rice and pasta. On TikTok, it’s referred to as “fried rice syndrome.” Originally published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, the story focused on the death of a Brussels-based student following his consumption of a plate of meal-prepped spaghetti that he supposedly cooked Sunday, left out, and five days later reheated and ate it. In the case of the Brussels student, the illness was food poisoning caused by the Bacillus cereus bacterium. Found throughout the environment in its dormant, spore form, the microorganism doesn’t usually cause an illness, explained Ellen Shumaker, a food safety expert at North Carolina State University. The non-germinated organism is often seen in soil and starchy food. According to Shumaker, it is mostly associated with cooked rice, hence the syndrome’s name. Once cooked, the spores can germinate, become active, and start creating toxins. “Eating the toxin is what makes people sick,” Shumaker said. The organism survives the cooking process and then grows in foods not properly refrigerated quickly. Once the organism reaches relatively high concentrations, it can cause illness through infection or the formation of a heat-stable toxin. The spores generally germinate when the food sits in what Shumaker defines as “the temperature danger zone,” between 4 and 60 degrees Celsius. “To avoid bacteria growth, it is recommended to keep foods out of this temperature range for longer than four hours,” she said. It’s important to note that although the germination process may kick off during cooking time, it continues while the food sits at room temperature. Once cooked, the food is ripe ground for spore germination — unless the dish is immediately put into the fridge, which would stop the multiplication of the active bacteria. “It is recommended to divide large portions of hot food into shallow containers to allow it to cool more quickly before putting it into the fridge,” she advised. “Also, make sure that the fridge is below 5 degrees Celsius.” Generally speaking, “fried rice syndrome” symptoms are similar to those seen in reaction to other types of food poisoning, such as vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal cramps and the like. Although there is no medicine to take when the syndrome is incurred, the most important way to stay healthy and combat it, say the experts, is to stay hydrated. (SD-Agencies) TikTok再次引發了有關食品安全的激烈討論。最近幾周，一則 2008 年的舊聞再次出現在TikTok上，讓用戶對食用重新加熱的淀粉食物（尤其是米飯和面食）可能造成的危害感到恐懼。這在TikTok上被稱為“炒飯綜合癥”。 這篇報道最初發表在《臨床微生物學雜志》上，講述了一名布魯塞爾學生在食用了一盤預制意面后死亡的事件，據說他某個周日煮了一盤意面，放在外面，五天后重新加熱食用，結果意面中的蠟樣芽孢桿菌引起了食物中毒。 北卡羅來納州立大學食品安全專家艾倫?舒梅克解釋說，這種微生物以休眠孢子的形式存在于整個環境中，通常不會引起疾病。 這種休眠微生物經常存在于土壤和淀粉類食物中。根據舒梅克的說法，它主要和熟米飯有關，因此也被稱為“炒飯綜合癥”。 一旦煮熟，孢子就會發芽、活躍并開始產生毒素。“吃了這種毒素，人就會生病，”舒梅克說。 這種有機物在烹飪過程中存活下來，然后在沒有適當冷藏的食物中迅速繁殖。一旦達到相對較高的濃度，就會形成熱穩定毒素而致病。 舒梅克說，孢子一般在食物處于“溫度危險區”（4至60攝氏度）時萌發。她說：“為避免細菌滋生，建議食物放置在這個溫度區間內勿超過四個小時。” 值得注意的是，雖然在烹飪過程中孢子開始發芽，但食物在室溫下放置時過程仍在繼續。 一旦煮熟，食物就成為孢子發芽的成熟土壤 —— 除非立即將菜肴放入冰箱，這樣就能阻止活性細菌的繁殖。她建議說：“可以將大份量的熱食分裝在淺容器中，以便在放入冰箱前快速冷卻。另外，確保冰箱溫度低于5攝氏度。” 一般來說，“炒飯綜合征”的癥狀與其他類型食物中毒相似，如嘔吐、腹瀉、惡心、腹部絞痛等。專家表示，雖然發生“炒飯綜合征 ”時沒有藥物可以服用，但保持健康和對抗“炒飯綜合征”最重要的一點就是補充水分。(Translated by Debra) | 