Column IJsbrand Velzeboer: Toxic food

Our food is a favorite topic of conversation at home, especially over coffee or drinks. It leads to thrilling stories, because food can be deadly. That was proven by a recently convicted Australian woman who was sentenced to life in prison for killing part of her in-laws by serving a stew containing the death cap mushroom, one of the most poisonous fungi Mother Nature has to offer.

Sometimes, the intentions are good, but things still go terribly wrong. On the island of Java, hundreds of children fell ill after eating free school meals. The food had been delivered without refrigeration, and the children ate it sitting on the floor. A recipe for disaster, especially since the monsoon season had begun. Bacteria thrive in the humid, warm conditions of that time of year. Soil contamination and the growth of rice’s ‘house bacterium’, Bacillus cereus, are the most likely causes of this large-scale outbreak. In the United States too, school meals have repeatedly caused death and destruction in recent years.

When you think of the United States, you think of scale and abundance. But that isn’t always a good thing. The larger the food production scale, the harder it becomes to control food safety risks. Long supply chains, poorly trained staff, insufficient cooling, and production on concrete floors; all these factors can spell trouble. Only a strict and well-implemented food safety system can prevent such disasters.

In our small country, we also have a silent killer that appears mainly in autumn: the scaly ink cap mushroom. It’s common in our forests and meadows and is said to taste quite good. Yet this mushroom has an unpleasant trait, it contains coprine. Combined with the alcohol from a nice glass of wine, it can turn deadly. A hazard analysis based on HACCP principles can help manage this risk. If not, the acronym might take on a new meaning: Have A Cup of Coffee and Pray.

IJsbrand Velzeboer
Curative food technologist