The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday urged the public not to pick wild vegetables to eat on Lunar New Year holidays outings, as cases of food poisoning from eating unknown wild plants occur every year.
FDA official Lin Hsu-yang (林旭陽) said there are three or four cases of food poisoning from eating wild plants reported each year, with 16 cases between from 2000 to 2014, including six cases in which people mistook green-spored parasols (Chlorophyllum molybdites) for the edible parasol mushroom (Macrolepiota procera).
Other cases included mistaking giant upright elephant ear (Alocasia odora) for taro and mistaking groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) for chrysanthemum (Glebionis coronaria), he said.
Lin said that people sometimes pick wild plants when hiking and add them to their meals, but many wild plants have different levels of natural poisons and some plants with higher levels might cause people who consume them to become ill.
People who ingest green-spored parasols can experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blood in their stool, dehydration and gastroenteritis, he said, adding that eating giant upright elephant ear can cause symptoms including a sore throat, numbness of the mouth, drooling, difficulty swallowing and stomachaches.
Groundsel contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids that can cause people who eat it to suffer liver damage or even death in severe cases, he said.
Lin said mushrooms are difficult to identify and that groundsel and chrysanthemum look similar because they are both in the plant family Asteraceae, so people should avoid picking wild plants to avoid mistakenly consuming poisonous ones.
“The giant upright elephant ear leaves look similar to those of taro, but the taro leaf has fine hair on its surface to allow water droplets to easily roll off the surface,” while giant upright elephant ear leaves are smooth, FDA senior specialist Lin Tse-yang (林澤揚) said.
“Again, we strongly urge people not to pick wild plants that look similar to edible vegetables to avoid accidental food poisoning,” Lin Tse-yang said.
If anyone should experience discomfort after eating vegetables from a unknown source, they should seek medical attention as soon as possible and keep part of the plant for examination, he added.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS