10 Vegetables That Have Killed Humans

We’ve always heard great things about vegetables. They tend to be low in fat and calories and high in dietary fiber and vitamins. Our parents made us finish our broccoli before we could have dessert, and opting for a salad with your meal is a much healthier choice than ordering a side of fried cheese curds.The USDA recommends filling more than one-quarter of your plate with green goodness to maintain a healthy diet. However, not all vegetables have the squeaky-clean records suggested by their reputations. Here are 10 vegetables that have caused human deaths.

10. Zucchini
In 2015, an elderly German couple received some homegrown zucchini from their neighbor. Ludwig and Inge used the squash to prepare a stew for dinner, though it ended up tasting quite bitter.The couple fell ill that night, suffering from severe gastrointestinal symptoms. At the hospital, Inge and Ludwig were diagnosed with severe poisoning. It resulted from cucurbitacin, a toxic substance that can occur in plants of the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes pumpkins, melons, and squash.The bitter taste of the stew was an indicator that the toxin was present. Ludwig had cleared his plate and ingested much more of the toxin, so medics were unable to save him.

9. Red Chilies
Aspiring chef Andrew Lee from Edlington, England, died after eating a large helping of red chilies. Lee prepared a tomato sauce made with red chilies grown in his father’s garden. That night, Lee complained of intense discomfort and itching before falling asleep. The following morning, he was discovered lying unresponsive on the floor. It appeared that he had suffered a heart attack. When paramedics were unable to revive him, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Scientists suspect that Lee had an overwhelming allergic reaction based on the itching he experienced. Chilies contain capsaicin, an active chemical that has a range of toxic effects in high doses and has been proven to cause damage to the stomach lining in animals.  When left untreated, anaphylactic shock can result in fatal complications, including brain damage and heart failure.

8. Spinach
Spinach was one of the earliest superfoods of our time, way before kale or goji berries came into the spotlight. Famously the source of Popeye’s bulging muscles, spinach has long been recommended as a nutritional powerhouse. But spinach is also to blame for the deadliest foodborne disease outbreak from leafy vegetables that has ever been reported.In 2006, an outbreak of E. coli led to almost 200 laboratory-confirmed illnesses, half of which resulted in hospitalization. Thirty-one people developed kidney failure, and at least three cases linked to the outbreak resulted in death.Among the victims were an elderly woman from Wisconsin, a toddler from Idaho, and an elderly woman from Nebraska. A woman in Maryland also died after consuming raw spinach, but there was not enough evidence to link her death to the outbreak. The source of the outbreak was identified as fresh bagged spinach, so Popeye’s canned greens were not affected.

7. Peas
Edward and Delphine Hein hosted an annual winter dinner party for friends and family at their farmstead near Grafton, North Dakota. In 1931, they held their event on the night of January 29. Delphine served a salad sprinkled with peas that she had canned herself. Within days, 12 people fell ill and died. Edward and Delphine, as well as three of their six children, were among the victims.Authorities determined that the deaths were caused by the home-canned peas. They were contaminated by toxins that cause botulism poisoning. Symptoms include blurry vision and difficulty swallowing or speaking. Without treatment, botulism can lead to death.All 12 people who died shortly after the dinner party had consumed the legume-laden salad. Another guest who had removed the peas before eating the salad fell ill and died a week later, bringing the total death count to 13. The three children who survived—Richard, Marvin, and Wilfred—were too young to attend the party and spent the evening in their rooms, saving them from exposure to the fatal peas.

6. Corn
For most of us, the word “corn” brings to mind a side dish of soft, sweet kernels slathered in butter. But field corn is very different. It is left to dry completely before being harvested and is used in corn-based food products, in fuel ethanol, or as livestock feed.After being harvested, the rock-hard kernels are often stored in grain bins, which is where things can become dangerous. Corn avalanches inside grain bins have caused numerous deaths. The most hazardous year on record for grain bin engulfments, with 26 fatalities, was 2010. More than half of grain bin incidents occur in stored corn, while the rest happen in soybeans, wheat, and other crops.Two of the deaths in 2010 happened at a commercial grain-elevator complex in Mount Carroll, Illinois. Fourteen-year-old Wyatt Whitebread was sent into a storage tower to loosen up crusted corn kernels. When the corn inside a grain bin becomes damp, it gets coated along the sides of the interior walls. Workers are often required to walk along the top of the corn as they use a steel rod to dislodge the caked pieces from the walls.Wyatt was inside the grain bin when another worker opened two floor holes that are designed to speed the flow of the corn. This resulted in a sudden cascade that dragged Wyatt under a mountain of kernels. He screamed as he went down, prompting 19-year-old Alejandro Pacas to rush over and try to help him. Alejandro was also engulfed by the corn, and both teenagers died within seconds. A third worker, 20-year-old Will Piper (who was Alejandro’s best friend), attempted to help and also became trapped. Luckily, Will was able to keep his head above the corn. It took nearly 12 hours for 300 rescue workers to free him.Being buried in corn creates an enormous amount of pressure on a person’s rib cage and diaphragm, making it impossible to inhale or exhale. In addition, the kernels fill the nostrils and mouth, causing suffocation.

5. Cucumbers
Salmonella is often associated with warnings about consuming raw or undercooked eggs and chicken. But the dangerous bacteria are not confined to poultry and poultry products. A 2015 outbreak of Salmonella in cucumbers infected a total of 907 people in 40 states across the country. Over 200 people were hospitalized, and four deaths were attributed to the outbreak.“Slicer” cucumbers imported from Baja, Mexico, and distributed by Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce of San Diego, California, were identified as the source of the contamination. Andrew and Williamson supplied the tainted cucumbers to retail and wholesale companies in 22 states, which explains why the outbreak was so widespread. Salmonella is estimated to cause one million foodborne illnesses in the United States every year. People infected with Salmonella typically develop fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps shortly after exposure to the bacteria. Symptoms usually last four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment.However, in severe cases of diarrhea, the Salmonella infection can spread from the intestines to the bloodstream. These cases require hospitalization and prompt treatment with antibiotics to avoid death.

4. Potatoes
Like many members of the nightshade family, potatoes contain highly toxic alkaloids that can cause solanine poisoning when ingested. People are warned against eating any potatoes that appear green. This indicates the presence of toxins that can cause gastrointestinal symptoms ranging from moderate to severe when ingested. In some cases, solanine poisoning can result in coma or death.But you don’t even need to eat potatoes for them to kill you.In 2013, rotting potatoes caused the deaths of nearly an entire Russian family. A 42-year-old university professor had gone down to the basement under the garage one afternoon. When he failed to reappear, his wife went to check on him, unaware that he had fainted due to the poisonous fumes emanating from a bag of rotting potatoes. She, too, was overwhelmed by the toxic environment and never returned.In a lethal procession, their son and his grandmother followed in their footsteps, meeting the same fate. The elderly woman had grown concerned and called a neighbor for help before descending into the garage basement. By the time help arrived, all four family members had been poisoned by the toxic fumes and died, leaving an eight-year-old girl as the sole survivor.

3. Lettuce
In early 2007, an Oklahoma couple made a routine trip in their semitrailer to pick up supplies from a Dole plant in Yuma, Arizona. Sheila Kay Ross exited the truck to get some paperwork but never returned. When her husband failed to locate her on his own, he contacted police. The Yuma police searched the area but found no sign of Ross.Three days later, her body was discovered in a trailer that was making a lettuce delivery to a Hy-Vee grocery store in Chariton, Iowa. The semitrailer had been at the same Dole plant in Yuma where Ross had gone missing. It appeared that she had become pinned inside the trailer when it was being loaded. The lettuce crushed her to death.Authorities couldn’t determine how Ross ended up in the trailer in the first place, but the incident was ruled an accident. There were no indications of foul play by anyone or anything other than the lettuce.

2. Frozen Vegetables
Make sure you pay attention to the label the next time you dig a bag of frozen peas out of the back of your freezer. Frozen vegetables produced by CRF Frozen Foods of Pasco, Washington, were identified as the likely source of a Listeria outbreak that occurred across four different states.Although the number of people infected was much lower than other outbreaks, all nine identified cases resulted in hospitalization. Of those, one Connecticut resident died from listeriosis. Two other patients died in Maryland and Washington as well, but their deaths were not attributed to the bacterial infection.The long-term storage of frozen foods allowed the Listeria outbreak to span over a number of years. The earliest case was reported in 2013, but recalls of the products thought to be contaminated didn’t occur until 2016. Named in the recalls were more than 350 products, including frozen green beans, broccoli, and peas that had been sold under various brands at popular grocery stores such as Safeway, Costco, and Trader Joe’s.Listeria is much less common than Salmonella or E. coli, but it is the most lethal foodborne pathogen. A healthy immune system can typically fight off an infection from Listeria. But if the bacteria goes into the bloodstream and causes listeriosis, one in five cases results in death.

1. Canned Vegetables
In summer 2015, Linda Clarene Jackson of Lake Los Angeles, California, was arrested for murder and faced allegations that she used canned foods as a deadly weapon. Jackson was accused of fatally beating her boyfriend, David Ruiz, with cans of peas, carrots, and chicken broth.Police had been called on reports of a man who was injured and bleeding. They found Ruiz unresponsive, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said Jackson’s motive was unclear.If convicted, she faced life in prison for her canned food killing. But her sentence has already been completed. On June 8, 2017, she died of natural causes behind bars while awaiting trial.

10 Disgusting Delicacies From Around The World

From caviar to filet mignon, every culture and society has foods that are considered delicacies. As such, these dishes are often thought of as the most delicious and prestigious foods one can sample. However, delicacies vary greatly from country to country. In many instances, the favorite foods of one country can be viewed with disgust and aversion by those from other places. One person’s filet mignon can look like gruel to another. Louise Fresco is quoted as saying, “Food is something holy”; these delicacies, however, can be viewed as terrors straight from Hell.

10. Casu Marzu

In Sardinia, cheese has disappeared terribly. Casu marzu is considered by Sardinia to be a valuable quintessence. But what makes this cheese so special?. Many flies can enter the cheese, filling from thousands upon thousands of eggs. Then, the eggs hatch, and the worms begin to do what they do best: eat and go to the toilet. When eating helminths, enzymes produced by the body will be rotten and molded inside the cheese so that when opened for consumption, the inside is a flat gum. Contains countless fresh worms. However, there is a risk of eating with this dish. EU does not want people to eat rotten cheese and live insects. However, the illegality of cheese has been overthrown, as Europe regards cheese as a traditional Sardinian food and therefore does not fall under its jurisdiction.

9. Hakarl

In Iceland, sharks are even more terrifying because of national dishes - fermented, mushrooms, and filled with ammonia clouds. Hakarl is a traditional Icelandic dish that can be traced from the Vikings. The Vikings soon learned that the flesh of the Greenland shark was a human poison, so in preparation for consumption, they discovered a way to clean the meat. To remove toxins, trimethylamine oxide and uric acid, a hole is dug, and the shark is placed inside. The stones are placed on the shark's head. The pressure of the rock causes the toxin to leak. This takes six to 12 weeks. During this time, the shark itself begins to rot and ferment in the ground. Once purification is considered successful, the shark is pulled from the ground, cut into long pieces, and dried. Soaking longer; Months will pass before the hakarl prepare to make sure the shark is ready. How to know when the rotten shark is ready to consume? When the smell is ripe, ripe, and crusty brown, formed on the shark's meat. Although the idea of eating hakarl seems disgusting to outsiders, Icelanders consider this a traditional national dish.

8. Huitlacoche

Mexico is renowned for its delicious cuisines. There is, however, one food that is considered a delicacy by native Mexicans that others would be rather shocked to find on their plates. Huitlacoche is often known as “corn smut,” “fungus,” or “Mexican truffle,” but this delicacy is a plant disease that afflicts corn. The disease grows in puffy, grey globules that look somewhat like river rocks. Though this fungal disease is considered a plague by most, in parts of Mexico, the fungus is scraped from leaves and actually put onto the kernel to promote growth. Huitlacoche can be prepared in many ways, often thrown into many dishes as a flavoring element, or it can be used to create soups and sauces. Many even eat the globular fungus by itself, relishing in its delicate flavor and soft, mushy texture. When cooking with huitlacoche, one must be warned: When heated, the fungus turns from grey to jet black, looking a lot like the ink of a squid.

7. Kiviak

In Greenland, holidays are just as special, and their celebrations would not be complete without the Inuit delicacy of kiviak. To prepare kiviak, the Inuit start by gathering their meats. First, they capture and slaughter a large seal. The seal is then disemboweled and greased. Then, hundreds of auks, a bird similar to a penguin, are caught and killed. The bodies are stuffed, whole, into the body of the dead seal. After the whole birds have been stuffed into the seal carcass, the seal is sutured shut and covered with heaps of grease to prevent maggots from entering the body. A hole is then dug, and the seal is placed, auks and all, inside and covered with heavy stones. After several months, usually close to the Christmas holiday, the seal is dug up. The sutures which were holding the auks inside the fermenting seal body are cut to reveal the birds. The auks are then eaten, bones and all, as they have become soft due to the fermenting process. The intestinal fluids are often sucked right out of the bodies of the birds and enjoyed as a rancid juice. This same intestinal fluid is also often used for sauces for other foods and dishes.

6. Virgin Boy Eggs

Eggs are a staple of nearly every culture. They are delicious, versatile, and full of protein. However, in China, one of their delicacies has a little more: urine. Virgin boy eggs are a delicacy in Dongyang. Each year in the spring, eggs are boiled in the urine of young virgin boys, usually aged ten and under. During the springtime pee-fling, urine is collected from nearly every boy under ten. Chicken eggs are then placed to soak in a bath of boys’ urine and then boiled in more urine. Once the eggs reach hard-boiled status, they’re removed from the urine, cracked, peeled, and then placed back into the urine to simmer. This urine simmering process can take nearly an entire day and can cost a buyer twice what a regular chicken egg would cost. This delicacy has been around since ancient times in China, and eating them is supposed to boost one’s health. Many claim that eating urine-soaked eggs will prevent a variety of ailments, but the most notable is preventing heatstroke.
5. Shirako

Japan is notorious for its weird eats, and shirako is definitely one of the oddest. Shirako is milt, or to put it bluntly, the sperm sacs and the accompanying semen of male fish. The little sacs of semen are considered a delicacy in Japan. Shirako is harvested from many different types of fish, including cod, anglerfish, salmon, and pufferfish. It is harvested during the winter months, as this is when these different fish are producing the most seminal fluid, meaning the shirako will be more delicious. Once harvested, the shirako can be prepared in many different ways to please the adventurous palate. Lightly cooked, the shirako becomes even creamier, turning into a seminal fluid–based custard. For those not quite ready to indulge in fresh shirako, it can be doused in tempura batter and deep-fried, creating a creamy, crunchy sperm sac for consumption. Shirako is often considered the most prized part of the fish, thus adding to its delicacy status. In some places, tiny portions of shirako sell for more than $100. The most prized shirako, however, is that of the pufferfish.

4. Century Eggs

Going by many names, such as the century egg, thousand-year egg, or pidan, this eggy creation is a favorite in rural China. A century egg is either a quail, duck, or chicken egg that has been fermented and preserved using an atypical array of ingredients. First, a large vat is filled with black tea, salt, lime, and freshly burned wood ashes and is left to cool overnight. After this vat has reached maximum potency, duck, quail, or chicken eggs are added in. The eggs then soak in this mixture from anywhere from seven weeks to five months, ensuring they are fermented and preserved properly. The egg becomes a jiggly, wiggly nightmare. Imagine an egg with the consistency of Jell-O. The white of the egg turns colors ranging from amber to nearly black. The yolk becomes a hard ball that is dark grey or green. The egg also reeks of ammonia, which only adds another hint of disgust to the black, eggy mess. This delicacy is often sliced into pieces and served as a side dish or enjoyed on its own.

3. Bird’s Nest Soup

Bird’s nest soup is made from the nests of cave-dwelling swiftlets. These birds make their tiny, special nests out of something easy to find for most birds: saliva. The birds use tons of their own spit to weave and build intricate nests on the side of the cave walls in which they live. To harvest the tiny nests, men must climb ladders to great heights within the cave to peel the little spit abodes down for consumption. The nests are then taken and used to create a soup or a gelatinous dessert which is claimed to taste like a Slush Puppie drink. The harvesting of the birds’ nests themselves is a disgusting act. Because of the harvesting, which happens up to three times per year, the bird populations are decreasing. The nests are taken before the swiftlet has time to lay an egg, thus forcing the small bird to create another nest during breeding season. So this delicacy may be one of the past if regulations on the practice of harvesting nests for soup are not moderated.

2. Shiokara

A regional delicacy of Japan is shiokara. Often passed on by Japanese natives, shiokara is not for the faint of heart. Shiokara is salted, fermented marine animals, most commonly cuttlefish. To create this dish, one simply catches a cuttlefish, slices it up into pieces, and then mixes the meat with the guts and juices found within the cuttlefish itself. After preparation, the cuttlefish and its body juices are allowed to ferment and rot for up to a month. When the month has passed, the container is opened, and what is found inside is the stuff of foodies’ nightmares. The cuttlefish and guts have turned into a viscous brown paste with the smell of stinky, rotten seafood. Japanese natives who consume the dish agree that the best way to eat shiokara is to simply swallow everything, slices and guts, in one giant gulp and then follow it with an even larger shot of whiskey. Some insist it tastes like anchovies.

1. Stinkheads

To prepare the perfect tepa, aka “stinkhead,” a whitefish or salmon is caught and slaughtered. The head and guts are then put into a wooden barrel, covered in burlap, buried, and allowed to ferment for a week. After the stinkhead has been in the ground long enough, it is removed and eaten as is. “As is” happens to be a rotten, putty-like mass of fish goop. Though considered disgusting by most, native Alaskans view the stinkhead as a delicious traditional delicacy. However, enjoying it comes at great costs. Alaskan natives suffer from the highest rates of botulism worldwide due to the consumption of their rotted delicacy. Fermented food contains amounts of botulism that can be removed through modern cooking and preparation practices.