Leftover Spaghetti Killed Belgian Student

On October 1, 2008, a 20-year-old Belgian student reheated spaghetti that had been prepared five days earlier and left at room temperature. Within 30 minutes, he developed a headache, abdominal pain, and nausea before vomiting for hours and suffering diarrhea. His parents found him dead the following morning, approximately 10 hours after he ate the meal. Tests found significant amounts of Bacillus cereus in the pasta, linking his death to the food poisoning commonly called "fried rice syndrome."

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