You may not know it, but you could be keeping poison in your refrigerator.
Every food item has a specific way to be packed, stored, or cooked. Often you can find the instructions on the manufacturing label at the back of the package. But if these instructions aren't followed properly, it could have disastrous consequences.
These everyday foods may be delicious, but if eaten the wrong way, could be toxic and may actually kill you. Even though it's extremely rare to die from eating this, you could lead to you falling sick.
Rhubarb
Next time you’re thinking of making a rhubarb crumble be very cautious, as the leaves are poisonous.
They contain oxalic acid which is a nephrotoxic, and too much oxalate in the body can lead to a condition called hyperoxaluria, where the oxalate is excreted in the urine.
Rhubarb leaves can cause breathing trouble, seizures, kidney failure, and in some extreme cases, death. You can still eat your rhubarb crumble, though, just avoid the leaves.
Kidney Beans
Great to bulk up a salad or pop in a chilli, kidney beans need to be prepared correctly before you eat them.
Don’t worry if they’re canned kidney beans though, because they’ll already be soaked (although they do contain a lot of sodium, apparently.)
Kidney beans contain lectins, which can kill the cells in your stomach, the chemical compound linamarin can turn into hydrogen, so if they are dried kidney beans, soak them before cooking.
Potatoes
Ever seen a green potato? Yeah, don’t eat it.
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Potatoes have poisonous stems and leaves, and although potato poisoning is rare, you can never be too careful.
The green toxin can cause gastrointestinal distress, induce coma, and even death within 24 hours of consumption.
Cherry Stones
You can die if you eat too many cherry stones, as they actually contain cyanide, which is poisonous.
As reported by The Independent, a man from Blackpool almost died from eating some from a pack of cherries he’d bought from Tesco, so beware.
Cashews
Fun fact: cashew nuts are actually seeds, not nuts, you’ve been lied to.
Their shells are deadly, and have a coating of anacardic acid, which if handled incorrectly can either burn your skin, or give you an upset stomach.
When raw, they contain urushiol, which is a chemical found in poison ivy too. If consumed in large amounts, it can be fatal.
Tuna
We’re not talking about tinned tuna you have in your salad, we’re talking about raw tuna.
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You’ve probably heard about the dangers of mercury poisoning, especially in children and pregnant women, which is why you need to be careful with your raw tuna intake.
Once eaten, it can cause itching, pain, high blood pressure and other fatal symptoms.
Honey
This sweet sticky treat can contain a poisonous toxin known as ‘pyrrolizidine alkaloid’ if the honey isn’t pasteurized properly.
Eating it can cause headaches, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, and even death if you eat a lot of it.
Fugu (puffer fish)
'Death by blowfish' actually exists, and this thing looks pretty nasty doesn't it?
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The Japanese delicacy is more poisonous than cyanide, and can cause a pretty fast and violent death.
Unfortunately, there’s no antidote, and chefs who work with the deadly fish must train for at least two years and have a special license to deal with it.
Bean Sprouts
The perfect accompaniment for your stir fry, or is it?
Bean sprouts are often consumed raw, or lightly cooked, like in salads or your classic stir fry.
Unfortunately, this means it's tough to cook out food borne illnesses like listoria, e.coli and salmonella.
People with weakened immune systems including children, older adults and pregnant women shouldn’t eat them, just in case.
Almonds
If you consume too many almonds, you can experience a number of different side effects, and spoiler alert, they’re not nice.
This is in reference to ‘bitter’ or ‘lethal’ almonds, bitter almonds contain traces of purric acid (also known as hydrocyanic acid) in its raw state.
The very worst symptoms of eating bitter almonds can be your nervous system shutting down, breathing difficulties, and even death.
Almonds do actually contain cyanide in small doses
The Mirror spoke to Angela White, a food safety consultant based in Staffordshire who advised: “Any foods can be dangerous if not prepared, stored labelled or cooked correctly – whether that’s by the manufacturer, or at home.
“At home, chilled foods such as dairy, cooked meats and salads should be stored below 5 degrees Celsius and how you store them in your fridge is important too. Raw meat should always be at the bottom where it can’t drip on other ready to eat foods, and salads should be covered in the drawer at the bottom of your fridge.”
Angela pointed out that often manufacturers get it wrong too, and there can be some pretty awful consequences.
“Manufacturers get it wrong as well, just take a look at the number of recalls by suppliers that happen week in, week out. In the last month products have been recalled because they contain undeclared allergens, which can lead to anaphylactic shock and death in sensitive individuals.
“Contamination with listeria can cause fever, diarrhoea, miscarriages in pregnant women and can spread to your nervous system and cause headaches, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and even convulsions.”
Let it be known that you must take extra care when organising your fridge and preparing your food, because there's no harm in being extra cautious.
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