A bacterium present in cooked rice has been identified by a British study which sounds the alarm on the use of the microwave.
Convenient, simple to use and time-saving, the oven microwave has become an indispensable appliance in many kitchens, but its use is not without risk. Burns, poor cooking, fire outbreaks but also health risks are legion. A British study thus points to a new unknown danger: that of rice reheated in the microwave. A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has pointed out the presence of a bacterium in cooked rice. According to their study published at the beginning of the year 2022 in the very serious International Journal of Food Biology, this bacterium, called Bacillus Cereus, develops in cooked rice left at room temperature.
If the heat generated by microwaving kills these small organisms, taking it out of the oven and leaving it at room temperature again will cause them to develop spores that are harmful to your health. What are the risks ? Mainly digestive disorders, but the team of researchers mainly points to cases of food poisoning resulting in diarrhea and vomiting. If we follow the conclusions of this study, it would therefore be better not to bring your doggy-bag of fried or Cantonese rice cooked the day before and simply reheated in the microwave from the canteen the next day at noon!
Already doubts about the microwave during the Buitoni scandal
The use of the microwave oven had already been pointed out as a possible factor in the multiplication of cases at the time of the Buitoni pizza affair in the spring of 2022. Experts, questioned on the multiplication of serious cases of poisoning after the contamination of pizzas with the E.Coli bacterium, recalled that cooking in the microwave was not recommended and called for favoring the cooking of frozen pizzas in the traditional oven. For them, cooking at 200 degrees made it possible to further limit the risk of contamination by eradicating the possible presence of bacteria harmful to health.