Following the tragic death of a 20-year-old who passed away after eating reheated pasta, a doctor has issued a stern warning.
As previously reported, AJ, a resident of Brussels, Belgium, prepared a spaghetti dish with tomato sauce five days prior to the tragic incident.
However, he had left it sitting at room temperature in his kitchen, according to reports. On the day of the incident, after returning from his lessons, he decided to reheat the dish in a microwave and consume it before heading out to engage in sports.
Within just half an hour of consuming the reheated pasta, AJ complained of a severe headache, stomach pains, and nausea. His condition rapidly deteriorated, leading to violent illness.
A case report recently published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology detailed AJ's unfortunate ordeal, revealing that he began vomiting profusely for several hours and experienced episodes of watery diarrhea around midnight.
His parents, growing increasingly worried about their son's condition, checked on him around 11 AM the following morning. Tragically, they found AJ dead. A subsequent legal examination determined that AJ likely passed away around 4:00AM, approximately ten hours after consuming the reheated pasta.
Following this heartbreaking revelation, which may spark concern amongst those who often indulge in reheated pasta, a doctor has spoken out.
Dr. Bernard, who runs a popular YouTube channel, said: "Many people eat pasta, or any other form of noodles, that are leftover for a day or two and they’re fine. Be careful of food left out for more than a few hours. If the food smells funny, it’s always better to be safe than sorry."
According to Dr. Bernard, while AJ's case is not considered common in terms of its severity, it hints at the importance of adhering to proper food storage practices to prevent similar incidents.
Health officials strongly advise promptly refrigerating perishable food items within a maximum of two hours after preparation.
Specific guidelines suggest that fresh poultry, fish, and ground meats should be either consumed or frozen within a period of two days after cooking, while beef, veal, lamb, or pork should be used or stored within a range of three to five days to maintain safety and quality.
An autopsy conducted five days after his death confirmed that he had succumbed to suspected food poisoning caused by the Bacillus cereus bacteria. Organ failure, notably moderate centrilobular liver necrosis, was identified as a contributing factor to his death. However, pinpointing the exact cause of death proved challenging due to the delay in conducting the autopsy.
The authors of the report stated: "The spaghetti had been kept at room temperature for several days. This allowed Bacillus cereus to grow to very high concentrations and produced the high toxin concentration (14.8 μg/g) found in the pasta and which is likely responsible for the fatal outcome."
AJ's tragic incident initially occurred in 2008 and was reported in 2011. However, it has resurfaced recently after several TikTok videos went viral, warning of the dangers associated with "fried rice syndrome."
Take Dr. Bernard's advice - it's always better safe than sorry!