Deadly dinners


From wriggling, live octopus to the ominously-named blood clams, some of the world’s delicacies can also be deadly. And even everyday items can be dangerous if they’re not prepared correctly or inedible parts are eaten. Here we take a look at the world’s deadliest foods.




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Sannakji

Octopus can be eaten raw, but would you eat it if it still wriggling? Sannakji is a Korean dish of baby octopus which is cut into pieces while still alive and served immediately, or sometimes wrapped around chopsticks and eaten whole. It poses a choking hazard because the suction cups are still active and can cling to your throat. Approximately six people die every year eating this deadly dish.




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Fugu

Infamous for being both a Japanese delicacy and potentially lethal, fugu, also known as pufferfish, can only be prepared by specially trained chefs. The internal organs of the pufferfish contain a deadly poison, tetrodotoxin, which is 1,200 times stronger than cyanide and can paralyze the body’s muscles – every few years a death is recorded.




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Ackee

You’ve probably heard of Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and saltfish, which features pieces of the fruit cooked with salted codfish. But do you know about the dangers associated with unripe ackee? The unripened fruit and seeds contain the toxins hypoglycin A and B, so must never be harvested prematurely. Consumption causes vomiting, which can be severe enough to cause death.




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Blood clams

With a name as ominous as blood clams, you might expect there to be danger involved. However, the molluscs’ red color, caused by high levels of haemoglobin (the protein that makes blood red), is not what makes them risky. It’s because they’re often eaten raw and have a track record of spreading diseases including hepatitis A, typhoid and dysentery. They must be boiled for long enough to kill any bacteria.

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Raw cashews

If you love to snack on cashew nuts, you may be surprised to see them on this list. But in their raw, unprocessed state, cashews contain urushiol which is a chemical also found in poison ivy. It causes skin rashes and can be lethal if ingested in high doses. It’s a good job the type you find in the grocery store are cooked at a high heat at least once before sale. Cashews might still be labeled as raw if they haven’t been flavored or roasted further, but they will have been treated and are safe to eat.




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Fesikh

Every year health warnings are issued against eating fesikh, a fermented and salted fish dish traditionally eaten during the Egyptian spring festival Sham el-Nessim. If fesikh isn’t prepared with enough salt or undried fish is used, it might be left in anaerobic conditions for weeks with the perfect environment for dangerous, botulism-causing bacteria to grow. In 2019, 70 people were hospitalized including one fatality in the Egyptian city of Alexandria alone.




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African bullfrog

Just one species of frog that’s eaten around the world, the African bullfrog is a delicacy in parts of Namibia and Zambia. The animals grow to huge sizes and are prepared whole – not just the legs are eaten like in France. However, they can be poisonous and cause kidney failure if they’re not harvested at the right time of year or prepared correctly.




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Cassava

Used to make tapioca, fries, cake and bread, the root crop cassava is a great source of carbohydrate. However, when raw it contains the poison cyanide, so must be cooked in one of a number of ways: by boiling, grilling or steaming, for instance. If cassava is not prepared correctly, it can be particularly dangerous for children to eat.




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Pangium edule

Found in the jungle in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, pangium edule is a tall tree which bears huge rugby ball-shaped fruit. While its fleshy insides can be pickled or cooked to eat, great care must be taken while preparing the fruit. The skin is full of the poison cyanide, so they must be soaked in running water for days, then boiled and peeled.




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Cherry stones

Chewing on a cherry, apricot or peach stone or the pips from an apple should be avoided, because they contain a compound that turns into cyanide in the body. The doses are small, so unless you consume a lot, the effects are unlikely to be fatal. This is not the same as accidentally swallowing a whole stone – when you do this it usually passes through your system intact. 

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Jellyfish

Jellyfish are more famous for their nasty sting but it’s also eaten around the world. However, it must be a species that’s edible for humans and it must be prepared correctly. The mauve stinger, found in the Mediterranean, is one such edible species. It’s cooked in lemon juice, vinegar and water, which gets rid of the dangerous chemicals. Then it’s typically battered and fried. Meanwhile, boiled jellyfish salad is a popular Chinese dish.




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Casu marzu

Most of us love a slice of cheese, but creamy casu marzu is created by leaving pecorino (a hard cheese similar to Parmesan) out for cheese flies, which lay their eggs inside the rind. Maggots hatch and feed on the cheese which softens it and gives it its unique flavor. They’re not removed before you eat the cheese and some experts warn there’s a risk of maggots causing damage to your intestine. So make sure you chew properly.

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Elderberries

Purple-black berries that grow on elder trees in Europe and America, elderberries have historically been used to treat winter colds and flu. If you find yourself wanting to have a go at making elderberry cordial or wine, it’s imperative you cook the fruit properly. The raw berries, bark and leaves contain the poison cyanide.




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Absinthe

It has a bad reputation for having hallucinogenic properties and was banned in many European countries and the US for most of the last century. However, the botanical spirit absinthe, once accused of containing psychoactive chemicals, doesn’t have nearly enough to cause a negative effect. What’s really the most dangerous thing about it is its alcohol content which can be as high as 74% ABV (148 proof).

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Hákarl

A traditional Icelandic food, hákarl is Greenland shark that has been fermented for six months. If eaten fresh, it would be poisonous because the sharks have high levels of toxins in their flesh. It’s considered safe to eat after it has been given time to age and neutralize – but it retains a strong concentration of ammonia which can be very off-putting.




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