One of the latest debates on the internet surrounds something you may eat for dinner a lot. A D.C. food safety expert gives the dish on rice and whether reheating it could make you sick.

“We’re not always aware of the things that could be making us sick,” said Janet Buffer with the Center for Food Safety & Nutrition Security at The George Washington University.

She said that it definitely can make you sick if it’s not stored correctly, and it all comes down to the temperature.

“When you’ve prepared your rice and you’re cooling it, you really want to get it from 140 (degrees) down to 70 within a two-hour period max,” she said.

Buffer said that you can check that with any food thermometer you get from your local grocery store.

What you’re trying to protect yourself from is bacillus cereus spores that grow in rice.

“If rice is prepared and not cooled correctly, there’s an opportunity for that spore to become what we call vegetative. So, it moves from an inert state to a state where it’s growing organisms,” Buffer said.

She said that storing it in the right dish is important, as well, and can help prevent those spores from growing.

“What that would entail is removing it from your pot, putting it in a shallow dish, letting it cool for a little bit on your counter, and then you can put it in the refrigerator,” she said.

So should we be worrying about getting sick from our rice dinner the next day?

“If you’re going to store it, it’s all about the cooling. If it’s been cooked and cooled properly, it is fine to reheat it and eat it, absolutely fine,” she said.