Is That Rice Out to Get Me?

I studied Food Safety this semester, sort of a combination of the legal aspects and the microbiological ones.  The problem with that is it makes you paranoid.  You worry about things you never even knew existed before, like Bacillus Cereus.  I know you're all clamouring to know what that is!  It's a bacteria commonly found on rice that can grow to dangerous levels if you cook rice and then leave it out for a long time at room temperature.  It has some nasty symptoms, which you can read up on yourself if you like, but the scary part is that it can develop in buffets where they leave fried rice dishes out for a long time (or in restaurants that leave rice out to cool overnight).

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There's a picture of it, so if you spot it in some fried rice you know to avoid it (I jest, of course).

A much larger problem is salmonella, which is inherently present on/in chicken and eggs.  This is why you should always cook your chicken right through and why uncooked eggs are such a risky prospect for vulnerable populations (like children, the elderly and the immune suppressed).  It sounds a little odd speaking of eating uncooked eggs, I know, but many foods can contain them including mayonnaise and Caesar dressing.  Eggs commonly have Salmonella living on the shell, so it's important when you're buying them to avoid buying cracked eggs.  Those cracks allow the Salmonella to enter the egg and contaminate it.  There was a foodborne outbreak here in Australia recently at a school camp, where the bread and butter pudding was slightly undercooked in the centre and contained eggs that had cracked shells.

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Salmonella is probably the most common cause of foodborne illness worldwide, over 40,000 cases are reported each year in the US alone (Wikipedia).  You see what I mean about paranoia? :)  Happily, a lot of the prevention is common sense, keeping your kitchen and hands clean, separating raw and cooked foods, storing food correctly (and at the right temperature).  Check your local government websites, they're bound to contain information about foodborne illness and how to prevent it, or check out Safe Food Queensland or the US Food Safety website.

Have you ever had food poisoning? Did you report it and go to the doctor or just tough it out?