The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES) published this Monday, July 1 recommendations not to confuse edible plants with poisonous ones. Because in the past two years, two people have died after making a mistake in their picking. And it can happen as well “in nature” than “in the garden or the vegetable patch”. The health agency therefore calls “to vigilance” and “gives some advice to avoid the risk of poisoning”.
[#Vigilance⚠] Following the reports of several cases of serious poisoning, including two deaths, the@Anses_fr and the network of poison control centers draw attention to the risks associated with the confusion of poisonous plants with edible plants.
▶ https://t.co/eNRFdUlK4mpic.twitter.com/T5tBYFjuus– Anses (@Anses_fr) July 1, 2019
Digestive, cardiac or neurological disorders
Through the toxicovigilance system, more than 250 cases per year of plant confusion have been identified since 2012 in France. And if all age groups are affected, children under six are particularly concerned. ANSES has drawn up a list of the most frequently confused plants, which can be at the origin of the most serious consequences:
- Bulb plants confused with onion, garlic, or shallot;
- Horse chestnut confused with chestnut;
- Coloquintes or bitter gourds confused with edible gourds;
- Arum confused with sorrel or spinach.
Once the confusion is made and the bad plant ingested, the manifestations are most often digestive disorders (abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea). Some plants can also cause more serious symptoms, cardiac or neurological, which can lead to death:
- Verâtre confused with gentian;
- Belladonna mistaken for grape;
- Foxglove confused with comfrey;
- Saffron enantha mixed with tuberous parsley;
- Leaves of aconite napel (or aconite-loup) confused with couscouil.
To limit the risk of poisoning, ANSES therefore recommends:
- If in doubt about the plant, don’t eat it!
- If the taste is unusual or unpleasant, stop consuming it;
- Do not collect several at the same time, to avoid entering several species and mixing them;
- Take a picture of your harvest, so that in the event of poisoning, you can identify the cause.
Skin problems
But plants can also be responsible for other health problems, even when they are not ingested. In Charente-Maritime at the end of May, seven primary school students burned their hands in the second degree … while playing with fig leaves, report South West. The sap of the tree is indeed phototoxic, and can cause skin reactions under the effect of UV rays and humidity. Other families have the same properties, such as buttercup, St. John’s wort, poppy, parsnip, parsley or carrot leaves. The Regional Health Agency, informed of this story, worked on a brochure to inform about the dangerousness of certain plants, indicates the regional daily.
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