Most of the times we don’t have to worry about food poisoning, since all packaged and processed foods pass many safety tests before they arrive on our plate. Nevertheless, we do sometimes hear about a difficult case of food poisoning, or even death. In order to avoid that we’ll go through a list of foods that could possibly lead to such consequences. These foods are definitely on the top 5 poisonous foods list, and if prepared incorrectly may lead to mayor health consequences and even death.
Pufferfish
Although it’s a delicacy in Japan, if prepared incorrectly, the Fugu, or pufferfish can cause paralysis and asphyxiation. This fish is so poisonous, that chefs who wish to prepare it, have to go through specific preparations and rigorous testing before they could obtain a certificate which will allow them to cook, and serve it.
The training to become certified to prepare pufferfish takes up to 3 years, and ends with a written test and a demonstration of the chef’s skills. The last part of the test is where the chef has to eat the fugu fish that he prepared himself.
Only one third of the participants pass the test, which does not mean that the rest die from poisoning. They can also fail in any other part of the test.
If you still weren’t shocked with how deadly this fish is, then maybe the fact that the Emperor of Japan is officially forbidden to eat it for his own safety, might change your mind.
Elderberry
Many of you have probably heard that the elderberry is poisonous to you, but you might have also heard that it’s quite healthy as well. Now, how can it be both those things at once. The truth of the matter is that the elderberry has some parts of it that are really poisonous. Other parts of it are used to produce sodas, syrup, liquors and are completely safe and healthy for you to consume.
What complicates things a bit is the fact that there are a few different types of elderberry, so if you’re interested in having it in your garden and using it for home remedies, you’ll need to educate yourself on the subject first.
Mushrooms
Mushroom poisoning symptoms can range from mild stomach discomfort to death. While you can find some obvious and useful signs that can tell you if a mushroom is poisonous or not, a mushroom which origins are not known should always be considered dangerous to eat. Some of the signs that you can use to decide whether a mushroom is poisonous or not are the following:
- The mushroom should have either pink or black gills, not white.
- It should have a flat cap without any bumps.
- When you pull it off, the gills shouldn’t stay on the stalk, but on the cap of the mushroom.
What you must remember is that though this rules are generally true, there are always exclusions. If you are not sure of the type or origins of the mushrooms, it’s always better not to risk it.
Nutmeg
Although nutmeg comes in handy while baking, and is an unavoidable part of your kitchen cabinet, it does come with some consequences. That is if you ingest more than the recommended dose. If you go overboard on nutmeg you might start to feel disoriented, hyper and might also have some hallucinations. In order to avoid such consequences, you need to measure very carefully while preparing your recipes.
The symptoms we mentioned earlier, along with like dizziness, nausea, an out-of-body sensation, and dry mouth can start to appear after 2 tbsp. of nutmeg.
Ackee
Jamaica’s national fruit is the ackee, which is a tasty and yet a very dangerous fruit. Before it’s fully ripe it contains a poison called hydroglycin. The most interesting part is that as soon as it’s ripe, it opens up and is perfectly safe to eat.
Because of the dangerous consequences it could lead to, the U.S. has banned importation of raw ackee. The only way that you can get it in the States is canned.
Although it can be very poisonous, the ackee is actually very healthy. People use it as treatment for fever, cold, edemas, and even epilepsy.
Unripe ackee is unsafe for both adults and children. Children are even more sensitive to its toxins than adults are. The toxins that are present in the unripe ackee fruit can harm the liver, can drastically lower your blood sugar levels, and could possibly lead to death. You need to be careful while consuming and preparing the fruit, as even the water you use to boil an unripe ackee can be poisonous.
