FOOD keeps us alive – it provides energy and helps the body repair and grow.
But whether it’s from choking, poisoning or allergies, it can also kill us.
Any dish can do it, but some are far more likely to than others.
From cupboard staples to foreign delicacies, here are nine of the world’s deadliest foods.
Cassava
Cassava, also known as manioc or yuca, is a root vegetable native to Central and South America.
It’s a staple in the diets of about 500million people globally, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
But cassava roots and leaves contain toxins called cyanogenic glycosides, which break down into cyanide.
Symptoms may start as headaches and dizziness before progressing to seizures, leg paralysis, and eventual death, a report in Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences suggests.
The World Health Organization says cassava poisoning kills more than 200 people every year, with thousands more left permanently disabled.
The best way to detoxify the starchy tuber is to soak peeled cassava in water, or boil it and dry it in the sun, according to Food Science and Nutrition.
Peanuts
Peanuts – or peanut butter – are found in most homes across the UK and US, though around two per cent of us are allergic.
Exactly how many people die from peanut-induced anaphylaxis worldwide is unclear.
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Allergist explains the difference between allergies and anaphylaxis ” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6005667781001″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]But NHS figures suggest that about 40 fatalities in the UK in the last 30 years have been due to peanuts or tree nuts.
Some 66 food-induced anaphylaxis deaths were reported in children, 14 per cent of which were caused by peanuts.
In the US, between 150 and 200 people die each year because of food allergies, with around 50 to 62 per cent caused by peanuts, according to Food Allergies Atlanta.
The first signs of anaphylaxis include swelling on the throat and tongue, difficulty breathing, and wheezing or coughing, the NHS warns.
People may then experience blue, grey or pale skin, lips or tongue, a rash, gasping for air or fainting.
Death cap mushroom
Many types of fungus can be fatal. But the number one killer is the death cap mushroom, which is responsible for about 90 per cent of mushroom deaths.
Even half a cap is enough to kill someone, according to the Woodland Trust, which dubs the death cap the “silent assassin”.
Symptoms start within six to 12 hours and include nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure and diarrhoea, the BC Centre for Disease Control says.
Within days, this can progress to liver or kidney failure and ultimately death.
Exactly how many deaths there are each year is unclear, but estimates suggest there could be as many as 100 annually, as well as 10,000 illnesses.
Death cap mushrooms are fairly common across the UK, Ireland and mainland Europe, found in “mixed deciduous woods, often in widely spaced groups and particularly under oak and beach”.
But they’re also found in the US, Australia and other parts of the world.
You can spot a death cap mushroom by looking out for domed caps, which are olive-yellow to greenish in colour and five to 15cm in diameter, as well as off-white stems and cream or even slightly pink spores.
Puffer fish
Several species of puffer fish contain a dangerous poison called tetrodotoxin, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
This can cause numbness or paralysis almost immediately, and result in death in as little as 20 minutes.
Tetrodotoxin is thought to be 1,200 times as toxic as cyanide, and the minimum lethal dose is estimated to be two to three milligrams.
Despite this, puffer fish is still served in Japan as ‘fugu‘ – though it can only be prepared by specially-trained chefs, who remove the toxin.
The Japanese Ministry for Health reports around 50 poisonings a year, and between zero and three deaths.
But fugu has one of the highest fatality rates of all foods, standing at 2.8 per cent from 2006 to 2015, the Toyko Food Safety Information Center warns.
Rhubarb leaves
Many of us enjoy the stalks of rhubarb in crumbles, fools and jams.
But the green leaves contain oxalic acid – a poison that can cause breathing difficulties, nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, seizures and even death, according to Mount Sinai.
“Serious poisonings can result in kidney failure. Deaths have been reported, but are rare,” the site adds.
A lethal dose of oxalic acid is somewhere between 15 and 30g, so you’d have to eat a lot of rhubarb leaves to reach this level, National Geographic says.
Nutmeg
Nutmeg is often sprinkled onto Christmas dishes and bowls of rice pudding.
But if consumed in large amounts, it comes with some terrifying side effects.
These include anxiety, confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, hallucinations, jumbled speech, bladder problems, increased heart rate, and psychosis, the Encyclopedia of Toxicology (Third Edition) reports.
It’s because nutmeg contains a chemical called myristicin, which affects the central nervous system.
Death due to nutmeg alone is unlikely in humans, but it can happen.
An eight-year-old boy died 24 hours after consuming two tablespoons of powdered nutmeg (Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine), and a myristicin, one of the active ingredients in nutmeg, was found in a 55-year-old woman’s post-mortem serum (Forensic Science International).
Sannakji
Sannakji, a Korean delicacy, is octopus tentacles that are cut into pieces and eaten while still wriggling.
The danger lies in the fact that pads on the tentacles maintain suction, even after they’ve been severed.
It means diners must chew the tentacles before they stick to the roof of their mouths or risk choking to death.
Six people die from eating sannakji every year, according to Food & Wine.
Kidney beans
Beans are often touted as one of the healthiest foods on the planet.
They’re high in protein, full of fibre, and packed with vitamins and minerals, after all.
But kidney beans can be toxic if not prepared properly.
When raw, they contain a type of lectin called phytohemagglutinin, which is hard to digest and can cause stomach aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and headaches.
Several serious illnesses have been linked to beans, including 50 incidents of red kidney bean poisoning reported in the UK between 1976 and 1989.
To avoid any issues, soak dried beans in water for at least 12 hours then drain and rinse them.
Cover them in fresh water, then boil them vigorously for at least 10 minutes before simmering them for 45 to 60 minutes.
For less faff, buy them pre-cooked in tins instead.
Casu marzu
Casu marzu is a Sardinian cheese that comes filled with live maggots.
It’s made by adding fly larvae to pecorino. Over time, the creatures soften the cheese, so when served, it is almost liquid in the centre.
In 2009, the Guinness World Records declared Casu marzu the “world’s most dangerous cheese” because “the maggots, once consumed, can survive stomach acid to pass through the intestine walls, causing vomiting, abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea”.
There have been no known linked deaths, but the cheese has been banned since 1962.