Pufferfish, buah keluak, ‘kidneys of the sea’: Here are some food items to be cautious with

  • 📰 straits_times
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 69 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 31%
  • Publisher: 69%

Singapore Headlines News

Singapore Latest News,Singapore Headlines

SINGAPORE – The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) on Tuesday reminded members of the public in a Facebook post the dangers of eating pufferfish. The advisory comes two weeks after a Malaysian elderly couple died from eating the fish. Here are some food items you may want to take a little bit extra caution with before your next bite. Read more at straitstimes.com.

1. Pufferfish

The fish is, however, not born poisonous. They evolved to accumulate the toxin through their diet and use it as a defence mechanism against getting eaten. Farmed pufferfish, which have never consumed prey containing the toxin, such as snails and worms, are not poisonous. According to SFA’s website, enoki mushrooms not handled properly can be especially dangerous for the elderly and immuno-compromised individuals - those with a weakened immune system - as they can cause serious and fatal bacterial infection.

These shellfish called bivalves – which are animals with two hinged half-shells – sometimes contain toxins which cannot be destroyed by cooking. While cooking can get rid of some common toxins, some marine toxins and chemical contaminants like arsenic and lead cannot be destroyed by heat. Live oysters, usually eaten raw, have the highest risk, added SFA.

However, the hydrocyanic acid dissolves in water and can be removed by soaking or boiling the buah keluak, making it safe for consumption, said Professor William Chen, director of Nanyang Technological University’s food science and technology programme. He added that hydrocyanic acid is related to cyanide, which is toxic.One of them is fermentation, where the boiled seeds are buried with ash in a pit and fermented over 40 days, changing their flavour and reducing its toxicity.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.

How about almonds? Besides regular ones when we travel sometimes mini almonds, chinese almonds other varieties.. Always had cyanide concerns

We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 5. in SG

Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Commentary: More food safety monitoring needed in Malaysia – not just for pufferfishSome in Malaysia are urging authorities to step up enforcement after the tragic deaths of an elderly couple who ate pufferfish. There are other food safety issues deserving of more attention as well, says health journalist Loh Foon Fong.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Pufferfish poisoning in Malaysia: Daughter of couple who died calls for more awareness, legal actionKUALA LUMPUR: The daughter of two elderly people in Malaysia who died after eating pufferfish has called for more awareness on the sale of the fish, as she pushes for the government to prosecute those responsible for their deaths. Ms Ng Ai Lee, 51, said she hopes that there will be no repeat of the inciden Every piece of meat you eat is poisonous! chef needs licensing to prepare puffer fish. Her parents just straight up prepare it themselves.....
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Bulgaria bans Ukraine grain imports, Hungary widens restrictionsBUDAPEST: Bulgaria's government on Wednesday (Apr 19) approved a temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian grain and other food products after Hungary widened the scope of its ban to include more foodstuffs. In recent days, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia banned the import of grain and other food items from war-h
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Commentary: More food safety monitoring needed in Malaysia – not just for pufferfishSome in Malaysia are urging authorities to step up enforcement after the tragic deaths of an elderly couple who ate pufferfish. There are other food safety issues deserving of more attention as well, says health journalist Loh Foon Fong.
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Pufferfish poisoning in Malaysia: Daughter of couple who died calls for more awareness, legal actionKUALA LUMPUR: The daughter of two elderly people in Malaysia who died after eating pufferfish has called for more awareness on the sale of the fish, as she pushes for the government to prosecute those responsible for their deaths. Ms Ng Ai Lee, 51, said she hopes that there will be no repeat of the inciden Every piece of meat you eat is poisonous! chef needs licensing to prepare puffer fish. Her parents just straight up prepare it themselves.....
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »

Asian markets cautious ahead of China's economic growth dataSYDNEY : Asia's share markets were in a cautious mode on Tuesday as global investors waited to see whether China recorded a first quarter bounceback from its punishing pandemic lockdowns that led to a major economic slowdown.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 per cent,
Source: ChannelNewsAsia - 🏆 6. / 66 Read more »