Family supper of deadly pufferfish leaves 11 paralysed and fighting for life
Source: Evening Standard
Family supper of deadly pufferfish leaves 11 paralysed and fighting for life
Published: 24 October 2014
Updated: 09:16, 24 October 2014
Eleven members of the same family were seriously ill today after unwittingly cooking up the worlds deadliest fish for their supper.
The Souza family from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil fried and served up a puffer fish they had been given by a friend who had returned from a days sea fishing.
The pufferfish contains a toxin 1,200 times more lethal than cyanide, a drop of which can kill within 24 hours.
Seconds after taking their first bite all began to vomit, before losing the feeling in their face, arms and legs.
Most of the victims - which include four children aged three to five - were totally paralysed before they could reach a car that would take them to hospital, according to reports.
Read more: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/family-supper-of-deadly-pufferfish-leaves-11-paralysed-and-fighting-for-life-9815293.html
ReRe
(10,597 posts)The moral of this story: either know thy fish or require the fish gifter to be thy food taster.
jtuck004
(15,882 posts)You have to take the organs that hold the neurotoxins out, and be sure they haven't punctured and spilled their contents. Kinda like finding wild mushrooms to eat or parachuting, you want to be really, really good at it the first time, and every time after that.
dembotoz
(16,802 posts)Adrahil
(13,340 posts)jen63
(813 posts)have to be certified to filet it.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Hoppy
(3,595 posts)Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)louis-t
(23,292 posts)Response to Judi Lynn (Original post)
rateyes This message was self-deleted by its author.
deutsey
(20,166 posts)if prepared properly, the tingle the toxins give you when you eat it? Aside from the fish apparently tasting really good, I mean.
Regardless, I think I'd pass if I had a chance to eat some.
elias49
(4,259 posts)deutsey
(20,166 posts)and can still safely say "Therefore I am."
But, as so many Darwin Award winners and runner-ups attest, thinking is apparently no longer much in fashion anymore.
MADem
(135,425 posts)It was on this enormous plate in the shape of a crane--a bunch of little slim-cut, almost translucent pieces of fugu that were arranged to look like feathers.
I don't remember any tingle, though. There was drinking involved.
I didn't realize what I was eating until well after the fact, too--I did get a rep as the bravest person at the table, though! I used that rep to good effect in future interactions, even though it was all bullshit!!
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)psychosomatic.
Kablooie
(18,632 posts)The meal came with the room.
Thin translucent disks of sashimi arrayed in a pattern.
The taste was only in the sauce. The fish Itself had no taste and no tingle at all.
MADem
(135,425 posts)3catwoman3
(23,975 posts)I was stationed in Japan for 2 years, and chefs who are licened to prepare this let that be known by hangin a dried puffer fish above the sushi bar. There was a licensed chef in my favorite tiny sushi/tempura restaurant. I would never, never, EVER take a chance.
cosmicone
(11,014 posts)It is said that a fugu chef's code of honor is to commit harakiri if one of the patrons gets sick from the fugu. I like fugu but I will not eat it anywhere outside Japan.
The skin, eyes, testicles (or ovaries), liver, gall bladder and bile duct contain all the tetradotoxin. These organs have to be removed without puncturing or the toxin will contaminate the flesh.
The flesh can then be eaten safely.
Such a sad event -- I hope the family recovers completely.
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)I can just imagine the trial and error process humanity went through to figure out what parts of the fish to eat!!! Not sure I get it, somebody ate the fish and died and then what? His son decided to give it another try, after removing the eyes? ... Why ?
drm604
(16,230 posts)or possibly (a horrifying possibility) slaves, criminals, or captured enemies.
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)drm604
(16,230 posts)Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)drm604
(16,230 posts)I suggested famine, but that really doesn't seem likely does it? They're an island and they like fish, so they should always have been able to find food. I would think that a few incidents of death would have put them off eating this particular fish since so many others are available.
Asia was big on using plant and animal parts for medicine. Maybe they knew it was poisonous but thought that smaller doses might have medical uses and so experimented on animals or slaves in order to find which parts were the most and least poisonous. A primitive researcher might, for example, think that something that paralyzed limbs could, in smaller doses, prevent violent seizures in epileptics or help with movement disorders.
MADem
(135,425 posts)It's supposed to be an act of courage to eat it--you show how much guts, or whatever, you have.
It's like being a tough guy at the dinner table!
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)I ate that fugu UNKNOWINGLY....!!!
Helen Borg
(3,963 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)PeoViejo
(2,178 posts)I found a patch of them in the woods. A few of them had started to go by and the smell was awful. They smelled like death.
FlaGranny
(8,361 posts)we used to fish with friends and caught many "blowfish." They looked identical to the "Pufferfish" so I'm assuming they are the same or similar. I have no idea if the fish we caught were poisonous. A friend showed me how to prepare it - actually easier than most fish - and we ate many of them for many years. They are completely delicious - much better than chicken and the only fish my kids would ever eat. We caught them in the Great Bay in New Jersey. We were either very lucky or that species was not poisonous. Never once did we feel any tingling or numbness anywhere from them.
cab67
(2,992 posts)The toxin is actually produced by symbiotic bacteria. Some salamanders have them as well. Most tetraodontiforms (pufferfish, blowfish, etc.) don't. Porcupine fish also look similar and are related, but more distantly.
(Correction - evidently, all tetraodontiforms have the toxin. It only reaches dangerous levels in some.)
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)FlaGranny
(8,361 posts)Used to love those puffers. They are a lot easier to prepare than other fish. A couple of cuts, peel off the skin and the gutless, boneless flesh of the fish just pops out, sweet, mild, delicious.
maindawg
(1,151 posts)Growing up on Long Island, we used to catch puffer fish all the time. We called them blow fish. When you catch them they suck air blowing themselves up like a balloon. So you punture them with a knife and throw them in a bucket. Some people sat there all day and had a whole bucket full. We cleaned them and ate them all the time. We did not know they were poisonous. But we cooked them well usually frying them. They taste like chicken.
MADem
(135,425 posts)http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm085529.htm
reddread
(6,896 posts)a la izquierda
(11,794 posts)bigwillq
(72,790 posts)cyberswede
(26,117 posts)I wonder if the friend even knew what he caught?
I feel especially bad for the little kids.
MADem
(135,425 posts)But GREAT avatar!!!!
One of the best I've seen!!!
cyberswede
(26,117 posts)...gotta find a good turkey avatar for next month.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)gordianot
(15,237 posts)Another possible comparison:
Jay walking in Ferguson Missouri while being black.
Principled Peter
(28 posts)If so, charges should be filed.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)you can follow the story's details.
hughee99
(16,113 posts)a bite at exactly the same time? Personally, if someone else had bit into their dinner before me and immediately started vomiting, I think I wouldn't take a bite.
librechik
(30,674 posts)Marrah_G
(28,581 posts)I am stunned.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)Tetrodotoxin poisoning isn't something I'd wish on anyone, let alone an innocent family of 11!
I hope they pull through.