Ping: FabFoodie or other food experts.

[longers]

I think I remember reading about oats turning slightly hallucinogenic following bad storage but can't remember enough to be able to google it.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Spores are everywhere, particularly in soil, so they can be present in crops in particular, especially root veg. Whilst washing removes gross debris, you'll never wash all the bacteria from the surface. To a greater or lesser degree all primary foods have a low level of contamination. Whether that contamination becomes an issue depends upon handling, storage and processing conditions (and processing includes what happens in the home).
Consider what comes in with harvest from fields, all kinds of stuff, dirt, rodents, insects, metal, stones etc. etc. The processing of rice is fairly crude too and so there will be present in the processing plant environment and in the final product some B.cereus organisms which could potentially cause harm down the line.
Other pathogens such as E.coli and Salmonella which are indicators of feacal contamination can also be present in vegeatables from cow poo (or other animal faeces). There have been many classic food poisoning outbreaks from salad, one from Parsley, unpasteurised apple juice where river/flood water from cow-fields have contaminated either the water courses/supply of the veg itself, washing won't remove sufficient contamination and hence people/kids get sick. The miracle is that the incidence of harm for the amounts consumed round the world are pretty low indeed!

 

[Fab Foodie]

I think I remember reading about oats turning slightly hallucinogenic following bad storage but can't remember enough to be able to google it.

Due to Mycotoxins, poisons produced by moulds/mildews growing on the stored grain. In years of wet harvest these can be an issue. All mills will monitor these in storage. There is a story in the Bible of many people by the Nile dying in huge numbers, whole communities wiped out even though they had plenty of food and water. Recent theory is that this time coresponded with the flooding of the Nile, which also flooded the grain stores. The grain never dried, went mouldy and killed the people. Inhalation of the mould spores alone in sufficient quantities causes lung disease and death, particularly in the young and old. The ingested mycotoxins did for the rest.

 

[Haitch]

Is it too late to nominate this thread as the most interesting and informative of the year? Thanks.

 

[Aperitif]

Is it too late to nominate this thread as the most interesting and informative of the year? Thanks.

Took the words right out of my fingertips Alan. Maybe not seminal, but really interesting.

Fab 'Sheldonbydate' Foodie needs a regular column on here, I think...

 

[Fab Foodie]

Took the words right out of my fingertips Alan. Maybe not seminal, but really interesting.

Fab 'Sheldonbydate' Foodie needs a regular column on here, I think...

LOL
You're too kind, but you'll need to let Lukesdad in on the act too by the looks of it.
It's nice to be able to share a little of the stuff that forms part of my day to day life. I like my chosen subject, it's diverse in its technology and application and much of it's relevent to everybody! Just wish it paid 'bankers' bonuses (actually any bonus would be great)!
Cheers!

 

[longers]

LOL
You're too kind, but you'll need to let Lukesdad in on the act too by the looks of it.

Yep, Lukesdad knows his onions.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

FF - we always (along with just about every family in Japan) fry up left-over boiled rice the next day (it's practically the national dish...). We've never been ill because of this and neither has anyone else I know. Is this ill-advised and are we just lucky?

 

[Fab Foodie]

FF - we always (along with just about every family in Japan) fry up left-over boiled rice the next day (it's practically the national dish...). We've never been ill because of this and neither has anyone else I know. Is this ill-advised and are we just lucky?

It's not ill-advised IF you cool the rice fairly quickly/soon after cooking so the bacteria don't have an opportunity to multiply, which I expect the locals do quick enough through experience.
It's the take-away syndrome here, the rice gets left on the nice warm table for an hour or too before somebody clears-up and thinks to put it in the fridge, or, somebody holds it at a warm enough temp prior to serving which is good for microbial growth, but not hot enough to kill the blighters.
away

 

[atbman]

I think that as a rule you should avoid eating christmas pudding.

As a yule, I don't

 

[Fab Foodie]

As a yule, I don't

Soory, missed that, LOL

 

[dellzeqq]

I think I remember reading about oats turning slightly hallucinogenic following bad storage .