Does bacteria grow on food after cooking it?

Your sub-question addresses cooked rice. So let's deal with that. Like any cereal product (grains, flours) rice can contain several members of the Bacillus group that are thermoduric or even thermophilic spore-formers. read more

It produces about two dozen toxins, some of which produce nausea and vomiting between 30 minutes and 6 hrs after eating (no fever or diarrhea, although other toxins from the same organism can produce diarrhea about 10–14 hrs after eating, but usually only from meaty foods). read more

Escherichia coli O157: H7, and Campylobacter) to grow to dangerous levels that can cause illness. Bacteria exist everywhere in nature. They are in the soil, air, water and the foods we eat. When bacteria have nutrients (food), moisture, time and favorable temperatures, they grow rapidly increasing in numbers to the point where some can cause illness. read more

After a food is cooked and its temperature drops below 130 degrees, these spores germinate and begin to grow, multiply and produce toxins. One such spore-forming bacterium is Clostridium botulinum, which can grow in the oxygen-poor depths of a stockpot, and whose neurotoxin causes botulism. read more