# Foods made out of potentially lethal ingredients **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 5, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473 "2017-03-05T14:49:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/1 "2017-03-05T14:49:27Z")
I know two - fugu and gyromitra esculenta. Greenland shark might count but the wiki article suggest it won’t kill you, just make you very, very drunk. Any other foods where incorrect handling or eating the ingredients raw will poison you? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/2 "2017-03-05T14:56:38Z")
Polar bear liver has lethal amounts of vit. A. ---
**Author:** ![Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrogance_ex_machina/32/192_2.png) [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrogance_Ex_Machina)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/3 "2017-03-05T15:00:49Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Polar bear liver has lethal amounts of vit. A. Do people eat it regularly? I’m sure there’s all sorts of poisonous body parts people never eat, not really interested in those. ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/4 "2017-03-05T15:01:02Z")
[Cassava](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava). ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/5 "2017-03-05T15:23:27Z")
Bitter almonds; 50 (if you’re a small child, 5-10) will kill you. Not sure how regularly they’re eaten. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/6 "2017-03-05T16:15:12Z")
Raw tapioca is poisonous. Raw taro, pokeweed, and unwashed quinoa and acorns all contain substances that are highly irritating even if they aren’t outright poisonous, sufficiently bad as to render the uncooked/unwashed items inedible. Cycads are toxic and requiring processing to be edible, and even then residual toxicity might be bad over the long term. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/7 "2017-03-05T16:38:48Z")
Rhubarb leaves contain poisonous oxalic acid and maybe other toxic compounds, but you would have to eat about 10 pounds of them to reach the LD50. They might kill a child or someone in poor health. The stems have much lower concentrations of oxalic acid. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/8 "2017-03-05T16:39:03Z")
Lutefisk–can it be fatal if the lye makes it too caustic? ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/9 "2017-03-05T16:42:25Z")
Castor oil. (Not that one might classify it as a _food_, but close.) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/10 "2017-03-05T17:27:16Z")
Anything made from coconut. [Falling coconuts can kill you.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_by_coconut) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/11 "2017-03-05T17:31:09Z")
Kidney beans. Raw are toxic. Cooked from raw in a slow cooker can be even more toxic. They should be boiled for 30 minutes to deactivate the toxin. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Sandwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@Sandwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sandwood)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/12 "2017-03-05T20:54:28Z")
Do spices count as well? High doses of nutmeg can be [toxic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutmeg#Psychoactivity_and_toxicity). ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/13 "2017-03-05T23:11:36Z")
Corn. It causes Pellagra. Also acorn is toxic if you don’t treat it properly before consumption. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/14 "2017-03-06T02:24:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **burpo the wonder mutt** : > > Bitter almonds; 50 (if you’re a small child, 5-10) will kill you. Not sure how regularly they’re eaten. Quite often, indirectly. Almond extract, often used as a flavoring (for instance, in some cookies) is made from bitter almonds. Lots of other fruits also contain cyanogens, but usually not in the portion that’s eaten. Apple seeds, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![yellowjacketcoder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4bbf92/32.png) [@yellowjacketcoder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yellowjacketcoder)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/15 "2017-03-06T03:22:05Z")
> [@drewder](#): > > Corn. It causes Pellagra. Also acorn is toxic if you don’t treat it properly before consumption. Corn doesn’t really cause Pellagra (which is a lack of niacin), so much as eating ONLY corn will give you Pellagra because you aren’t eating enough of other things. Saying corn causes pellagra is like saying water causes starvation; because if all you consume is water, you will starve. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/16 "2017-03-06T03:22:47Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Do people eat it regularly? I’m sure there’s all sorts of poisonous body parts people never eat, not really interested in those. Multiple polar explorations failed because they didn’t know that the polar bear liver was poisonous, let alone why. IIRC, a serving size (as in 3 ounces) contains enough vitamin A to satisfy a person’s requirements for a YEAR. The Inuit have always discarded the liver in such a way that their dogs couldn’t get at it either, most likely by dumping it in the ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/17 "2017-03-06T03:42:32Z")
Well,there’s sodium and chloride… ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/18 "2017-03-06T04:01:42Z")
Potatoes exposed to light can develop dangerous levels of [solanine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanine) and [chaconine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaconine). Deaths are rare but not unknown. [Horrific Tales of Potatoes That Caused Mass Sickness and Even Death | Arts & Culture| Smithsonian Magazine](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/horrific-tales-of-potatoes-that-caused-mass-sickness-and-even-death-3162870/) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/19 "2017-03-06T04:37:56Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Quite often, indirectly. Almond extract, often used as a flavoring (for instance, in some cookies) is made from bitter almonds. > > Lots of other fruits also contain cyanogens, but usually not in the portion that’s eaten. Apple seeds, for instance. Thanks for the info. Do you think baking the cookies destroys the poison? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473/20 "2017-03-06T12:59:59Z")
**May Apple** – “All the parts of the plant are poisonous, including the green fruit, but once the fruit has turned yellow, it can be safely eaten with the seeds removed.[10]” ( [Podophyllum - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podophyllum) ) > [@](#): > > Toxicity[edit] > > The unripe green fruit is toxic. The ripened yellow fruit is edible in small amounts, though when consumed in large amounts the fruit is poisonous. The rhizome, foliage and roots are also poisonous.[15] Mayapple contains podophyllotoxin,[16] which is highly toxic if consumed, but can be used as a topical medicine. I recall reading about this in my Boy Scout handbook or a Golden Guide or something, and recalled that you could eat it at certain times of they year. Nobody could remember what time of year that was, so we didn’t go near it, and our camp was full of the things (the book didn’t mention that Helpful Fact about the color change. It turns out that it was poisonous during the month we were at camp, so it’s just as well.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-made-out-of-potentially-lethal-ingredients/781473.md?page=2)