Uncooked rice can contain spores of bacillus cereus bacterium. The spores can survive when rice is cooked and then left at room temperature – they grow into bacteria that cause vomiting or diarrhoea.
Delicate soft fruit like raspberries and strawberries might seem fiddly to wash, but they can also carry harmful bacteria and viruses picked up through contaminated water or during picking and processing.
Fruits grown on the ground like cantaloupe, watermelon and honeydew melon have a high food poisoning risk because listeria bacteria can grow on the rough rind and spread to the flesh.
While your sense of smell is a good indicator some of the time, don’t trust it as the only way to detect food poisoning. Check use-by dates and don’t take the risk.
Putting warm food in the fridge raises the internal temperature and could put all the food in there at risk of bacteria growth. However, as previously mentioned, it's also important to chill dishes quickly after they've been cooked.
Don't re-freeze ice cream once it’s melted. When it's left out at room temperature for an extended period of time, harmful bacteria like listeria can develop.
Cool leftovers as quickly as possible, ideally within two hours. If leftovers take too long to cool or they’re left out, there's an increased risk of bacteria reproducing.
Don’t be tempted to keep raw meat and fish for too long. Ideally, cook or freeze fresh poultry, fish and meat within two days of purchase.
SWIPE UP FOR MORE AMAZING STORIES