This Woman Is Suing A Chinese Buffet Because Of “Fried Rice Syndrome,” and OMG, What?!

Fried rice is a Chinese restaurant staple here in the U.S., which is exactly what makes this story so horrifying. A Texas woman is suing a Chinese buffet over “fried rice syndrome,” and honestly, it’s freaking us out.

Germaine Mobley, 62, of Corsicana, Texas, recently filed a lawsuit seeking $1 million in damages after allegedly getting sick from a 2016 lunch at Asian King Buffet in Waxahachie. Mobley claims that following her lunch at the restaurant, she became violently ill. She started vomiting, and by the next morning, she was having trouble breathing. She went to the hospital, where Mobley ended up in an ICU — she had to stay there for eight days, with two days spent on a ventilator.

Yikes! The whole situation sounds like a nightmare.

According to the Dallas Morning News, the claim states that Mobley contracted Bacillus cereus, which is the scientific name for something that is commonly referred to as “fried rice syndrome.” According to the Food and Drug Administration, this is a form of food poisoning that can occur when food is prepared and held without adequate refrigeration for several hours before serving. Foods that have been responsible for past outbreaks include things like cooked meat and vegetables, boiled or fried rice, custards, soups, and raw vegetable sprouts.

Fried rice syndrome can cause cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea. For otherwise healthy people, symptoms usually don’t last more than a day or two. However, in Mobley’s case, it was much worse: she had a pre-existing health condition and had to spend an additional three months in rehab after her eight-day stay in the hospital. Her treatments ended up costing over $100,000.

Asian King owner Huanan Ye said on Wednesday that the lawsuit does not provide sufficient proof of the claims, and is denying that their food made Mobley sick.

As for us? We’ll be thinking about this the next time we want to order fried rice.