17 of the world's most dangerous foods

A countdown of some of the scariest foods on the planet.

In an age of supermarkets and convenience shopping, we don’t pay an awful lot of attention to the fact that even worldwide favourites can pose a very real threat to our wellbeing if you don't prepare them right!

Here are 17 foods – some of which you may have at home, and some you won’t – which can be very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

Rhubarb leaves

Rhubarb leaves can cause nausea, burning sensations in the mouth and throat, and affect breathing. This is because they contain oxalic acid, which can form oxalate crystals in your kidneys. These can cause kidney failure and a build-up of waste products in the blood.

Raw cashews

‘Raw’ cashews in supermarkets are actually steamed before sale, which is just as well, as they contain urushiol – a chemical also found in poison ivy which can be lethal in high doses. Roasting cashews can be dangerous and must be done in such a way as to avoid smoke inhalation.

Elderberries

The leaves, twigs, roots and seeds of elderberry bushes contain cyanide, so it’s important to only eat the berries when they’re fully ripe and properly cooked. Unripe berries can cause severe diarrhoea, and even seizures.

Absinthe

Absinthe is an alcoholic drink made with wormwood (which naturally contains thujone), sweet fennel and sweet anise. Thujone can cause muscle spasms and convulsions in high doses, and the concentration of thujone allowed in food and alcoholic beverages is now capped by law in several countries.

Starfruit

Carambola, commonly known as starfruit because of its distinctive shape, contains oxalic acid and caramboxin, which can both worsen existing kidney troubles. Consumption by those with kidney failure can result in vomiting and nausea, as well as confusion (caramboxin is a neurotoxin) or, in some cases, even death.

Ackee

Ackee is a fruit native to West Africa, but was introduced to Jamaica and other Caribbean islands and the USA. Ackee and saltfish is now the national dish of Jamaica, but the unripened fruit and seeds contain the toxins hypoglycin A and B. Consumption of hypoglycin A can cause Jamaican vomiting sickness, which can be severe enough to cause death in children and those who are malnourished.

Fugu

Infamous for being both a delicacy and potentially lethal, fugu (pufferfish) can only be legally prepared in Japan by chefs who have undertaken a two- to three-year apprenticeship. The internal organs of the pufferfish contain a deadly poison, tetrodotoxin, which is 1,200 times stronger than cyanide and paralyses the body’s muscles. Victims eventually die from asphyxiation, as they are unable to breathe.

Bullfrog

Bullfrogs are a popular food in some African nations, but they carry toxins which can cause kidney failure. Young frogs are the most potentially dangerous specimens, and can cause a scorchingly painful urinary inflammation. However, it’s not known if this is due to poison or to a bacterial infection that the frogs are carrying.

Sannakji

If the thought of eating raw octopus isn’t enough to put you off your dinner, how about one that’s still wriggling? Sannakji is octopus that has been cut into pieces while still alive, and poses a choking hazard because the suction cups are still active and might cling to your mouth or throat. Several incidents of choking to death on sannakji are known.

Blood clams

Their name is nothing to do with the danger they pose – they actually contain high levels of haemoglobin, the same chemical that makes our own blood red. However, blood clams have been linked to outbreaks of hepatitis A and E, typhoid and dysentery, and were banned in Shanghai following a major outbreak of hepatitis A in 1988.

Hákarl

A traditional Icelandic food, hákari is Greenland shark that has been fermented for six months as the shark is poisonous when fresh. This is because the sharks have no kidneys, instead filtering out toxins via the skin. Allowing the shark to decay and cure removes the toxins from the flesh – but it retains a strong concentration of ammonia which can be very offputting.

Casu marzu

Most of us love a good slice of cheese. But casu marzu is created by leaving Pecorino cheeses out for cheese flies, which lay their eggs inside the rind. Maggots hatch and begin to eat the cheese, softening it and breaking down the fats. They’re not removed before you eat the cheese either. While alive, maggots can bore through the walls of your intestine. So make sure you chew properly.

Echizen kurage

Jellyfish and chips anyone? Echizen kurage (also known as Nomura’s jellyfish) is a large species of jellyfish which is edible once cooked but has toxic parts that must be removed prior to consumption. These jellyfish eat fish too, and are a threat to Japan’s tuna supply.

Pangium edule

A tall tree native to southeast Asia, pangium edule produces a large poisonous fruit that contains hydrogen cyanide and is therefore potentially lethal when eaten. The shelled seeds are prepared for human consumption by boiling, and may then also be buried in banana leaves and ash for up to 40 days.

Fesikh

Six people have already been hospitalised this year due to eating fesikh, a traditional Egyptian fermented fish dish that is eaten during the spring festival Sham el-Nessim. If the fish has not been properly prepared it can cause food poisoning.

Cassava

Raw cassava contains linamarin, which turns to cyanide when eaten raw. To make it safe to eat, it must be cooked in one of a number of ways: by boiling, grilling, or steaming, for instance. If the cassava is not prepared correctly, it can be particularly dangerous for children to eat.

Monkey brains

Eating monkey brains can lead to the development of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a fatal condition also linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or ‘mad cow disease’). High levels of infectious proteins known as ‘prions’ accumulate in the brain and cause irreversible damage to cells, causing loss of intellect, abnormal jerking movements, progressive loss of brain functionality and eventually death.

Source: MrGamez
Hákarl image - Chris 73; Casu marzu image - Shardan; Echizen kurage image - I, KENPEI; Fesikh - Faris Knight

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