A MAN has died after eating a bowl of reheated pasta in tomato sauce.
The 20-year-old, known as AJ, was found in bed by his devastated parents a few hours later.
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Student, 20, dies after eating reheated pasta (Photo Credit: Getty)
The student prepared the spaghetti dish five days earlier and left it in the kitchen at room temperature.
After a day at school, he heated up a meal in the microwave and ate it before going to play sports.
However, after a headache, stomach pain and nausea, he did not return home until 30 minutes later.
The boy then vomited “profusely” and suffered two episodes of “watery diarrhea,” according to a case report published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
AJ, from Brussels, Belgium, fell asleep around midnight.
When his “worried” parents – who had known about his illness the night before – went to check on him at 11am the next day, he was dead.
A forensic examination found that he died at around 4am – around 10 hours after eating pasta in tomato sauce.
An autopsy later revealed he had suspected food poisoning caused by the bacteria Bacillus cereus.
He had moderate centrilobular necrosis of the liver, which probably caused his organs to shut down.
The authors of the report say: “The spaghetti was kept at room temperature for several days.
“This allowed Bacillus cereus to grow to very high concentrations and produce the high concentration of toxin (14.8 μg/g) found in the pasta that is likely responsible for the fatal outcome.”
AJ’s death, which occurred in 2008, was first reported in 2011.
But his story resurfaced this week after several TikTok videos and Reddit posts warned of the dangers of “fried rice syndrome.”
The term refers to a type of food poisoning caused by eating reheated food that has not been stored properly – including but not limited to rice.
Uncooked foods contain Bacillus cereus spores that can survive when foods are cooked.
If food is left to sit at room temperature, the spores can grow into bacteria that will multiply and produce toxins that cause vomiting and/or diarrhea.
When toxins build up in food before it is eaten, a person usually becomes ill between one and six hours later.
Usually, the foods that cause this disease are pasta, potatoes and rice.
The longer cooked food is left at room temperature, the more likely it is that bacteria or toxins could make the food unsafe to eat.
In rare cases, like AJ, it can be fatal.
Toxins can also develop in the small intestine after consumption, causing food poisoning six to 15 hours after eating.
Foods that cause this type of bug include fish, dairy products, sauces, soups and meat.
‘I HAD NO IDEA’
Social media users were horrified that something so simple could kill them.
One person on Reddit said, “I regularly eat pizza a day or two later after it’s been out. I had no idea.”
While another wrote: “Three days is my rule for leftovers. I’ll reconsider.”
But others on TikTok assumed it was common knowledge not to scoff at leftovers that came out of the fridge.
In a video by @jpall20, posted as a warning to “all students and caterers out there”, one woman said: “I don’t know how this is not common sense.”
Another user commented: “Don’t people know they should refrigerate food?”
The NHS advises that people should serve rice as soon as it is cooked.
If this is not possible, it should be cooled as quickly as possible – ideally within an hour – and kept in the refrigerator for a maximum of one day until it is reheated.
When heating, it should be hot to the end and should never be reheated more than once, they add from the health service.
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education