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Becca Monaghan
Sep 13, 2023
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A 20-year-old student from Belgium sadly lost his life after eating leftover pasta – and social media users are only just learning about the horrifying incident.
In 2008, a man only known as AJ, was poisoned after eating spaghetti he left on the counter for five days at room temperature. He added fresh tomato sauce to the pasta before reheating and eating it.
The Journal of Clinical Microbiology reported that the student became sick around 30 minutes after consuming the dish when he suffered from headaches, abdominal pain, and nausea.
When he arrived at the hospital, AJ was vomiting for several hours with bouts of diarrhoea. Sadly, he died the following day around 10 hours after eating the leftover pasta.
They later found that the pasta was contaminated with Bacillus cereus, a toxin caused by contaminated food.
One TikToker recently brought attention to the story, with many warning others to ensure they refrigerate their leftovers properly and throw them away when necessary.
@jpall20 This has to be some form of #naturalselection because idk how this isnt common sense #leftovers #spoiledfood #bacteria #foodpoisoning
The video was soon inundated with comments from concerned users, with one writing: "A week? I get nervous when I leave it out a few hours."
Another added: "Three days tops IN THE FRIDGE. IN THE FRIDGE DAMNIT."
Meanwhile, a third commented: "The meal preppers worry me the most. Like how are you eating week old left over chicken and broccoli… you know that broccoli be broccoling."
According to Mayo Clinic, "leftovers can be kept for three to four days in the refrigerator. After that, the risk of food poisoning goes up. If you don't think you'll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them right away."
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