Germaine Mobley, aged 62, is a fan of dining out and enjoys exploring Texas’s diverse culinary scene. With a plethora of culinary influences near the Mexican border, she believed she couldn’t go wrong when choosing a restaurant. However, her recent experience with fried rice has left her with serious concerns, making her think twice before ordering the dish again.
After indulging in a plate of fried rice at a restaurant just outside Dallas, Mobley’s evening took a turn for the worse. She fell ill rapidly and began feeling extremely unwell during her drive back home, struggling to breathe. At one point, she was scared for her life. In hindsight, she wishes she had recognized the symptoms of what experts now call “fried rice syndrome” and headed straight to the emergency room.
Despite his initial efforts to relieve his symptoms and get on with the day, Mobley’s condition worsened. He spent several days in the intensive care unit and is now determined to raise awareness about the dangers of “milled rice syndrome”. It’s not uncommon for chefs to leave rice at room temperature to prevent it from clumping together, but this practice can lead to the growth of potentially harmful bacteria called Bacillus cereus This bacteria thrives when rice is not handled at room temperature for a long time, and warm summer temperatures in the US. can multiply rapidly
Celeste Rogers, a culinary expert, explained during an Inside Edition interview, “Often, we cook batches of rice and leave them out at room temperature to cool. It’s that critical cooling period that we need to be vigilant about. We have a maximum of six hours to cool the rice.” Rogers acknowledged that this is a common practice among chefs but emphasized the importance of not exceeding the six-hour limit.
Mobley has taken legal action and hired attorney Kathryn Knotts to help her hold the restaurant accountable for her ordeal. Knotts emphasized the seriousness of “fried rice syndrome,” saying, “While the name may sound humorous, the condition is very serious. I remember thinking, “I’ve never even heard of this before.” Jermaine didn’t know what could be done, but he wanted to make sure others didn’t suffer the same fate.
Rogers also gave advice on how to cool rice quickly, “To cool it rapidly, we need to spread it out on a flat surface to increase its surface area for cooling.”
If you’ve ever experienced food poisoning, you can empathize with the ordeal Mobley went through due to consuming contaminated fried rice. Her hospitalization experience has left her with a reluctance to eat fried rice from any restaurant, not just the one where she believes she got sick.
In contrast, the Asian King Buffet, the restaurant Mobley claims made her ill, denies any wrongdoing. Were you aware of the seriousness of “fried rice syndrome”?