Does Rice Go Bad? How Long Does It Last? [Best Answer] in 2023

Rice is a really common and nutritional grain. Whenever you need a quick and tasty meal, white rice comes to the service. With such wild availability, some people chose to store it in their house. Somehow you finally remembered that pack of rice you have been storing for ages. Now you are wondering: Does rice go bad?

We will answer that in the following article, as well as explaining the proper way of storing your favorite grain to protect it from spoilage. We will also talk about the longevity of rice and how long it can last. So, follow along!

Does Rice Go Bad?

The answer to that is similar to Pasta, in which rice does go bad. This is because rice contains some spores of specific bacteria. as well as the rice grains are exposed to air instead of being protected in full-grain rice.

Given enough moisture, the bacteria will start to grow and spoil your uncooked rice easily and even get infested by bugs that will be attracted with spoiled rice.

This is why it’s important to learn about the proper storage of rice, so you can avoid spoilage and extend the shelf life of your rice as much as possible.

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How To Store Rice?

So you bought bags of rice at a discount, you want to keep them as long as possible on the shelves. How can you do that?

Well, the answer to that depends on the rice you have. You can store cooked and uncooked rice.

Here is How:

Uncooked Rice

This is an easy one. Uncooked rice has a really long shelf life. All you need to do is to keep it away from humidity and contamination. This means that a clean pantry is all you need to keep that rice lasting for your needs.

If you happen to open the bag of rice, keep it well sealed after cooking. Perhaps even moving it into an airtight container is a better idea to avoid humidity from the air. This is because humid rice is an excellent area for bacterial growth. So you got to keep it dry as much as possible.

Cooked Rice

Cooked rice is a highly poisonous food if it’s not stored properly. It’s highly suggested that you only cook the rice you want to eat. Storing leftover not only can be hard but also dangerous if done incorrectly.

If you plan on eating that rice soon enough, then you can put it in the fridge dan seal it well. we will delve into how to tell if that rice has spoiled already or not in another paragraph.

If you plan to use that cooked rice after a long while, freezing is the way to go. Simply chuck that rice in a well-sealed, airtight container. Then put it inside the freezer to store for as long as you please.

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How long Does Rice Last?

Now that we stored the rice the right way, how long would that rice last? Well, the answer to that depends on many factors, some of them is completely dependant on the company.

For example, Mahatma Rice can last for up to 730 days in the pantry. Other brands may not have the same longevity. So, it really depends sometimes on the brand of rice you have.

Uncooked Rice

But to give a general estimate, your white uncooked rice can last for years if stored under optimal conditions. Take notice that the quality degrades over time, so the sooner the better in terms of uncooked rice.

For brown rice, it has a slightly shorter shelf life, lasting mere months, around 6 months to be exact, before it starts to either degrade in quality or spoil if not stored optimally,

Cooked Rice

For cooked rice, you can keep the cooked rice in the fridge and well stored for around 6 days. However, this period isn’t exact and it’s better to just throw the rice away if there are any signs of spoilage.

If you decide to go the freezing route, then your rice can last for around 6 months till you saw it and enjoy it eating it.

How To Tell if the Rice Has Gone Bad?

You stored your rice and somehow forgot about it. God only knows how long it has been stored, maybe it did spoil, maybe not, how can you tell?

Well, there are sure signs of rice spoilage you have to be on the lookout for, here they are:

Visual Signs

For uncooked rice, you will notice discoloration, your white rice will no longer look white. A general change in color is not a good sign at all.

If you see signs of mold growing on the rice grains, that’s spoiled, and don’t try to remove the spoiled and use the rest as this doesn’t get rid of the mold.

Infestation

Infestation happens when a bug finds it’s way inside the package of rice you have, they start to consume the rice and make more bugs inside your package. Just because you only see one bug doesn’t mean that the rice isn’t infested yet. Throw away the package immediately for your safety.

Moist Rice

If the uncooked rice you have feels moist, then humidity found it’s way into your package, and humid rice is the perfect breeding ground for bacteria.

Even if the rice was okay and not contaminated, the humidity will make the rice taste pretty bad.

Smell

If you cooked your rice and stored it in the fridge, and when you take it out you notice a funny smell, then your rice has spoiled. You should discard that rice away for your own safety.

Taste

If you don’t notice any of the previous signs and the rice tastes funny or weird, then you should still throw it away. Trust your senses as spoiled rice is really bad for you.

What Happens if you Eat Spoiled Rice?

Never ever try to eat expired rice. This is because spoiled rice can easily give you food poisoning that you will suffer a lot from it.

Food poisoning is a serious medical condition, you should seek medical attention if you ingested spoiled rice as things may become worse if you let it without help.

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Wrapping Up

Rice is a favorite meal for many, this is why it was important to clarify if rice can go bad or not, as well as explaining the proper way of storing your rice so you can keep it good for as long as possible. We also explained how to tell if your rice has gone bad so you can avoid food poisoning, a serious medical condition that would put your life at risk.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below, and we will reply to them as soon as possible. Thanks for reading and we hope you have an amazing day.

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