Family supper of deadly pufferfish leaves 11 paralysed and fighting for life

[Judi Lynn]

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 world’s 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 day’s 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]

1. Holy moley, Mother of God

The moral of this story: either know thy fish or require the fish gifter to be thy food taster.

[jtuck004]

2. Probably too late for a class...

http://www.visit-jy.com/english/spot/detail.php?id=3

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]

4. i will stick to mickey ds

[Adrahil]

6. Filet-o-fugu? NT

[jen63]

46. The chefs who prepare it in restaurants

have to be certified to filet it.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

3. Tonight's salad is toadstools over deadly nightshade.

[Hoppy]

10. I saw a documentary once where Homer Simpson almost died from it.

[Liberal Veteran]

35. And for your main course: Chicken tartare with sun-dried mayonaise.

[louis-t]

47. D'oh!

[deutsey]

7. Isnt the allure of this fish,

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]

17. You THINK? nt

[deutsey]

19. Yes, I do think

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]

28. I ate in in Japan, prepared by a master chef.

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]

48. I've had it, too. Definitely was tingling, but.was assured that was

psychosomatic.

[Kablooie]

53. I had it when I stayed at a ryokan In Japan.

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]

54. That is closer to my memory as well. nt

[3catwoman3]

52. You are correct.

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.

[Hulk]

8. Tragic

[cosmicone]

9. Fugu chefs are specially trained and licensed in Japan.

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]

11. Why do assassins still use cyanide?...

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]

12. My guess would be that they experimented by serving it to animals,

or possibly (a horrifying possibility) slaves, criminals, or captured enemies.

[Helen Borg]

13. They must really have liked the taste of it!

[drm604]

14. Maybe there was a famine and they were desperate to find anything edible.

[Helen Borg]

15. Possible, if this fish is very common there.

[drm604]

16. It is hard to understand how such a practice would start.

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]

29. It is very bland, actually.

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]

30. I dare you to eat an Amanita phalloides! :)

[MADem]

32. No thanks--I'll stick to portabellas! I'm a big chicken when it comes to scary foods...

I ate that fugu UNKNOWINGLY....!!!

[Helen Borg]

33. Oh, come on, man up!! :) :) :)

[MADem]

36. Bwak, bwak, bwak, bwak!!!!!

[freshwest]

57. Just before laying an egg, huh?

[PeoViejo]

49. I don't see how anyone could unless they are very fresh

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]

18. Many years ago

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]

21. They're related, but not the same species.

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]

24. Blowfish are easy to catch on the east coast and so sweet. They truly are delicious.

[MADem]

37. FDA says those are safe!

http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm085529.htm

[FlaGranny]

56. Thank you.

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]

20. When I was a kid

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]

31. Those aren't poisonous--they're on the FDA safe list.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers only to eat puffer fish (also known as fugu, bok, blowfish, globefish, swellfish, balloonfish, or sea squab) from two known safe sources. The safe sources are 1) imported puffer fish that have been processed and prepared by specially trained and certified fish cutters in the city of Shimonoseki, Japan, and 2) puffer fish caught in the mid-Atlantic coastal waters of the United States, typically between Virginia and New York. Puffer fish from all other sources potentially contain deadly toxins and therefore are not considered safe.

http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm085529.htm

[reddread]

22. too late for a food safety course?

[a la izquierda]

26. One of the best movies ever. nt

[bigwillq]

23. Oh wow.

[cyberswede]

25. This is horrible.

I wonder if the friend even knew what he caught?

I feel especially bad for the little kids.

[MADem]

38. Totally off-topic....

But GREAT avatar!!!!

One of the best I've seen!!!

[cyberswede]

40. Thanks! But I only have a week left to use it.

...gotta find a good turkey avatar for next month.

[MADem]

41. Heh heh--I'll look forward to it!!!! nt

[Marrah_G]

44. It reminds me of the sides of police cars in Salem :)

[MADem]

45. It does!!!! nt

[gordianot]

27. Eating Puffer Fish is like taking a vacation to North Korea.

Another possible comparison:

Jay walking in Ferguson Missouri while being black.

[Principled Peter]

34. Did the friend know what kind of fish it was?

If so, charges should be filed.

[WinkyDink]

55. Well, if you can read Portuguese.....

you can follow the story's details.

[hughee99]

39. Just curious, if it takes only seconds after the first bit to start vomiting, then did they all take

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]

42. who would eat a pufferfish? They're completely adorable. Like Puppies!

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=puffer+fish+video+for+kids&FORM=VIRE11#view=detail&mid=286A31F347E18799B7BF286A31F347E18799B7BF

[Marrah_G]

43. oh my god............THAT is horrifying

I am stunned.

[Aerows]

50. Awful!

Tetrodotoxin poisoning isn't something I'd wish on anyone, let alone an innocent family of 11!

I hope they pull through.

[blkmusclmachine]

51. Sad