Dangerous Food!

[Lady Macbeth]

Hi guys and girls....

Please feel free to update this thread with new finds about chemicals or toxic substances found in food especially 'ready-to-eat' food.

Thanks

I'll start with the first.

MICROWAVEABLE POPCORN


1-Popcorn lovers take note: microwave popcorn may be convenient, but it also may be hiding a potentially unhealthy substance, and it’s not the butter. It is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), a synthetic chemical that is found in the lining of microwave popcorn bags.

2- Microwave pop corn has diacetyl. That's the chemical in artificial butter flavoring that has been blamed for sickening hundreds of workers, killing a handful and destroying the lungs of at least three microwave popcorn addicts.


PFOA has been linked with liver, pancreatic, and testicular cancer as well as reproductive disturbances in laboratory animals. It has also been found to sicken humans and birds when outgassed from overheating cooking vessels coated with Teflon. PFOA is known to accumulate and linger in the body once it is ingested.

Diacetyl is believed to be the cause of a rash of a potentially deadly respiratory disease that struck two dozen workers in a microwave popcorn plant in 2001. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health believed that exposure to the artificial butter flavoring was behind the disease that destroys lung tissue and for the fact that 130 plant employees had twice the national average rates of asthma and bronchitis.

[Lady Macbeth]

Mushrooms.
Most people know that certain types of mushrooms can be deadly. The more common poisonings come from the Death Cap (often confused for the Paddy Straw mushroom), Destroying Angels, and Deadly Webcap. Death Caps alone contain over seven toxins and one bite can lead to a nasty death. Watch out for the Gyomitra, which is often confused for Morrel.

[Lady Macbeth]

Rhubarb.
Ever wonder why Rhubarb recipes mostly contain the stem and not the leaves? The leaves contain higher concentrations of oxalate, which causes poisoning in large doses. The stems contain much less of the compound. Anthraquinone glycosides are also present and may add to its toxicity.

[Lady Macbeth]

Potatoes.
Potatoes contain glycoalkaloids (solanine and chaconine), toxic compounds which are more prevalent in the wild potato varieties. Cooking at high temperatures mostly removes the toxin, although headaches, diarrhea, and cramps—and in severe cases, coma and death—can occur in rare cases. Ever wonder why we’re told to keep potatoes away from light? It’s to prevent higher concentrations of solanine. So don’t eat potatoes after they have turned green.

[Lady Macbeth]

Chocolate.
Chocolate contains the alkaloid theobromine, which in unusually high doses can be toxic to humans. However, it would take an unholy amount of chocolate to achieve this. But other species react much worse: dogs, parrots, horses, and cats can be killed by ingesting chocolate.

[Lady Macbeth]

Apricot Stones (Seeds).
Actually, many fruits of the rose family contain cyanogenetic glycosides, which upon ingestion release hydrogen cyanide gas. These include seeds from cherries, apples, plums, almonds, and peaches. Although it would take a mega-dose to do you in, keep this in mind the next time you go on an apricot seed binge. There have been reported deaths in Turkey, a large apricot grower, for this very reason.

[Lady Macbeth]

Tapioca.
Tapioca, if not processed properly, can be toxic. It contains a natural source of cyanide, whose precursor, linamarin, is rendered harmless if properly dried, soaked, and baked.

[Lady Macbeth]

Shellfish.
Shellfish poisoning is mostly associated with bivalve mollusks (mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops). These shellfish are filter feeders and can accumulate high levels of toxics including domoic acid, produced by microscopic algae. Cooking doesn’t always inactivate these toxins and some can lead to death in high dosages. Halal diets anyone?

[Lady Macbeth]

Blowfish (Fugu).
This fish is deadly on its own, and highly regarded as a Japanese and Hong Kong delicacy. It’s poison, tetrodotoxin, is 1,200 times more potent than cyanide. Around one hundred diners die each year from it. Preparation is the key; make sure a licensed chef prepares your Fugu. Becoming a licensed Fugu chef is a long and intensive process, culminating in the chef preparing a Fugu meal and eating it himself. The most deadly parts of Fugu include the liver, muscles, ovaries, and skin.

[Lady Macbeth]

Tomato.
Although the fruit itself is safe (more technically a berry), tomato plants contain glycoalkaloids, which are indeed toxic.