Posted on 03/10/2005 12:50:44 AM PST by freepatriot32
Ricin mixed into the flour? Cyanide? Hard to believe that simple cassava flour did this alone.
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~mathewsc/Cassava.html
These poor kids...
in my last post it should be spelled Abu Sayyaf
I have to believe this is much more than simple food poisoning. Bacteria doesn't make you sick right after you eat it unless it's a poison like botulism.
story for your ping lists perhaps
Like almonds and peach or apricot pits, manioc root (casava) contains natural cyanide compounds that improper preparation doesn't remove. Shred; squeeze; soak; squeeze; (repeat? Not sure.) dry; powder, grind, or rice; then prepare.
The women may have obtained improperly prepared or contaminated flour.
And to think we had tapioca for desert tonight.
No question in my mind that we should conform our food quality and inspection standards to those of South America, this to be politically correct.
Prayers on the way.
Prayers for the victims and those who mourn.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050310/PHIL10/TPInternational/Asia
snip
The roots of the cassava plant, a major crop in tropical countries, are rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. However, cassava is poisonous unless it is peeled and thoroughly cooked. If it is eaten raw or prepared incorrectly, one of its chemical constituents will be attacked by digestive enzymes and give off the deadly poison cyanide. As little as two cassava roots can contain a fatal dose.
"Some said they took only two bites because it tasted bitter and the effects were felt five to 10 minutes later," said Harold Gallego of Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital in the nearby town of Talibon, where 47 patients were taken.
snip
I always wondered how people first discovered the safe way to eat cassava. I mean, why did folks keep trying if the first to eat it got sick and died? How many died before someone smart enough figured out you had to peel, cook, mash/squeeze, recook, and remash/squeeze? Why did they keep trying? Why not move on to coconuts or something?
The author of this article is not familiar with casaba, known as yuca in this country. He says, …”should be cooked properly…” Heck, there is only one way to cook it. It is to boil it whether in soup or plain water (like one boils a potato). If it is cooked in plain water, it is then generally sliced and fried; or it is mashed (after boiling of course), filled with a meat filling (like a taco), and then into the frying pan to deep fry. These children did not get sick from the casaba unless poison was added to it. They got sick from the filling.
I'm really having a problem with this article.
The yuka has a hard skin. What was fun, was taking this hard skin, after peeling way the outer portion of the skin, we, as children, used to take those discarded peelings and cut them into funny teeth and wear them in our mouths. None of us dropped dead from that. We are still around.
Oh, I forgot. The yuca was in its raw state when we would make these "false" teeth and wear them.
The water leaches the poison out and has to be drained off, not boiled down. I imagine someone accidentally let it boil too long and the toxins were reabsorbed.
Heh. Am I the only freeper who has eaten cassava cakes? I've even made a few. My suspicion is the cassava root can vary in the amount of cyanide it contains. I've eaten the root many times in Cuban and Latin restaurants. It's prepared as you describe. Cassava is very common in Brazil and Africa
Cassava cakes are a bit different, are made from the processed then dried out cassava toot. It's turned into something akin to wheat flour that can be stored from season to season. It can be transported and sold as a commodity. When it's processed the cyanide compounds are leached out, then the stuff is dried out into a coarse flour. Water is added to make a cake that can be fried on your griddle like a corn cake. You can buy this flour in markets in Africa. The flour I got here (USA) was from Nigeria. The fresh root in the (USA) supermarkets comes from the Caribbean, though I ate some a friend grew in Florida
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