An outbreak of Bacillus cereus food-poisoning in Finland associated with boiled rice.

Abstract A food-poisoning outbreak caused by Bacillus cereus occurred in a Finnish industrial plant in January 1975. Eighteen of the 36 persons who ate a lunch including boiled rice, meat and vegetables became ill. The disease pattern was similar to previously reported short incubation time B. cereus food-poisonings associated with cooked rice. The median incubation time was two hours, the main symptoms being nausea, abdominal pain and vomiting. Rice and certain seasonings were the contaminated raw materials. Gas chromatographic fatty acid analysis of a bacterial cell was used as a diagnostic method as well as to identify a certain strain of B. cereus.