Top 10 Fatal Foods That You Can Still Buy

Also known as yuca or manioc, this starchy tuber is a staple in diets across the world. From sweet tapioca pudding to delectable attiéké, cassava is a versatile and tasty food. Despite its many uses and preparations, cassava cannot be consumed raw. The popular food contains cyanide, and some varieties even have lethal amounts of toxins. Cassava must be prepared properly to remove toxins, which means the root must be soaked, cooked or fermented in some way before it is consumed. Eating or drinking improperly prepared cassava could lead to goiters, paralysis or even death, so make sure to do your research before chowing down.

We go from one popular and potentially deadly tuber to another. From curries to poutine, potatoes are consumed in various forms throughout the world. However, if improperly stored and subsequently not peeled properly, potatoes can cause some nasty illnesses. If they are exposed to too much light during storage, potatoes can go green, which indicates higher levels of toxins known as glycoalkaloids. If consumed, these toxins can cause painful side effects such as gut irritation. Peeling the green off of the potatoes can help remove the toxins, but it may not completely eliminate the risk of poisoning, so make sure to toss any especially bitter tubers.

Surely anything this small with a name this cute can’t be THAT dangerous, right? Well, sometimes it’s the cute little ones you really have to look out for. Sprouts can really level up salads and sandwiches with their light flavor, wispy texture and satisfying crunch, but they can also send you to the hospital. Because sprouts thrive in warm, humid climates, they can carry a variety of deadly bacteria such as Listeria, E. coli and Salmonella. While cooking sprouts can kill these bacteria, sprouts are usually consumed raw, and they have subsequently been linked to several dangerous outbreaks over the years. Methods of cleaning sprouts vary, but if you are especially susceptible to nasty side effects, you might want to steer clear.

Considering their spooky name, it might come as no surprise that ghost peppers can have deadly consequences. While a small amount of ghost pepper as seasoning can actually benefit your health by providing vitamin C and boosting your metabolism, you can definitely have too much of a good thing. Consuming too many ghost peppers can actually tear your esophagus or cause other severe gastrointestinal issues, especially if you eat them in a pureed form. Eating pounds of peppers can even lead to death in some cases. No matter how much you love spicy foods, we don’t recommend doing that.

When the literal translation of a dish means putrid or rotten cheese, you might want to avoid it. This sheep milk cheese from Sardinia contains live maggots, which create additional fermentation and more intense flavors in the cheese. The cheese is considered spoiled if the maggots die, so the cheese is consumed when they are still alive. In some cases, the maggots can survive digestion and live in the diner’s intestine, causing a parasitic infection. While the cheese is officially outlawed by the European Union due to safety concerns, casu martzu is still produced in secret and can be found on the black market in some areas.

Deadly or not, this Icelandic delicacy is not for the faint of heart. Hákarl consists of the cured meat of a sleeper shark, such as the Greenland shark. The shark meat is prepared through fermentation and dried for months before being consumed. Due to the fermentation process and the shark meat itself, hákarl contains massive amounts of ammonia, which gives it an almost overwhelming cleaning product smell. Despite the smell, the fermentation process actually makes the meat edible. Raw shark meat is toxic to humans and can be harmful to the eyes, skin and respiratory system, even causing death in some cases.

As a widely consumed source of protein, kidney beans are enjoyed in a variety of cuisines. However, raw or undercooked kidney beans can be dangerous. Due to high concentrations of the proteins known as lectins, kidney beans can be toxic if consumed raw. If improperly cooked, the lectin phytohemagglutinin in just a few kidney beans can cause distressing food poisoning symptoms such as vomiting, headaches and diarrhea. In order to destroy the lectins, kidney beans must be boiled for at least half an hour, or that bowl of beans and rice might be the last thing you ever eat.

If you’re somewhat squeamish, you might want to skip this entry. San-nakji is a simple dish, consisting of chopped raw long arm octopus topped with sesame oil and seeds. However, the octopus is as fresh as it gets. Usually, this would be a good thing, but because of the octopus’ complex nervous system, the tentacles still move shortly after it is killed. Therefore, the diner eats a still moving octopus tentacle. In fact, some diners choose to eat a live octopus whole, foregoing the chopping altogether. Because the tentacles are still moving when they are eaten, there is a risk of the suction cups attaching to the throat and choking the diner to death from the inside.

Scientific name Blighia sapida, this delicious delicacy is the national fruit of Jamaica and a prominent part of the country’s national dish ackee and saltfish. When ripe, the ackee is a delightful red color and yawns fully open to indicate that the fruit is free of dangerous toxins. However, unripened ackee is highly toxic, containing massive amounts of hypoglycin toxins. The seeds of the fruit are always toxic and must be discarded, even when preparing ripened ackee. If consumed, the seeds and unripened fruit can cause nausea, vomiting, seizures and even death in some severe cases.

The deadliest dish on this list, fugu is made from the meat of certain species of pufferfish. Popular in Japan, fugu is considered a delicacy. However, due to tetrodotoxin, fugu can be lethal to humans if prepared incorrectly. In fact, fugu preparation is such a delicate process that it is illegal for inadequately trained chefs to serve the dish. Decades ago, fugu-kimo, or the liver of the fish, was considered to be the most delicious part of the fish and was very popular among Japanese diners. However, since the liver is also the most toxic organ, the dish has been banned since 1984. No matter which part of the fish you eat, you’re dancing with both deliciousness and death.