Raw potatoes poisonous?

[carol.l.nolan]

I seem to remember that it's taro that's poisonous if not cooked.
I think this is a root grown and eaten in tropical places like Hawaii
and New Guinea, and is used to make poi.

Does anyone know for sure?

Lynn

[Dino_P....@transarc.com]

Wow, what a lot of rumours we are spreading.
Potatoes are poisonous.
Potatoes are poisonous, but only when raw.
Potatoes are poisonous, but only raw green ones.
Potatoes are poisonous, but non-green ones are only a little
poisonous.
Fresh Potatoes which have sprouted are poisonous.
Raw potatoes can give you worms.
Tomatoes are mildly toxic.
Potatoes and other tubers which are exposed to light become green and
poisonous.

-----------------------------------

I never heard any of that mumbo-jumbo, but...
Whoever said that Grandma warned that raw potatoes can give you
worms...

had a smart Grandma! Potatoes, if grown in infected soil, can
themselves be infected by trichina worms. I'm surprised that none of
you so far has remembered any of this from your high-school biology
classes.

Anyway, the trichina is a parasite which will lie dormant in a
potato, waiting for some unsuspecting slob to eat it. Then, the
trichina will "wake up" (forgive the non-technical explanation), and
infect the host. The parasite causes painful inflammations, and can
imbed itself into muscle tissue, where it can lie dormant for long
periods. The condition is treatable.

The feces of infected pigs can carry trichina "sleepers" or whatever,
and if these feces are used as fertilizer on potatoes, the spuds can
themselves carry the worms. The worms are not microscopic, but a bit
bigger. However, you can't see them in infected potatoes or pork
meat, unless you have very good eyes, and are lucky enough to look
exactly where the worm has embedded itself.

Trichina used to be more prevalent, mostly found in pork meat, but
also in potatoes. That's why Grandma advises cooking potatoes and
pork well, to kill any possible trichina. These days, trichina is
almost unheard of in civilized countries, but remains a problem where
unsanitary farming conditions continue. I remember hearing that they
have had an average of fewer than 1 reported case of trichina per year
in the USA for the past 10 years. (It could be much less than that,
like only 1 case total in the past 10 years; sorry, I can't remember
the details).

So, anyway: eat your raw potatoes.

-dpc

PS: This is not a joke.

[Jennifer Dietz]

In article <Qe2LKGT0B...@transarc.com> Dino_P....@TRANSARC.COM writes:
>
>Wow, what a lot of rumours we are spreading.
> Potatoes are poisonous.
> Potatoes are poisonous, but only when raw.
> Potatoes are poisonous, but only raw green ones.
> Potatoes are poisonous, but non-green ones are only a little
> poisonous.
> Fresh Potatoes which have sprouted are poisonous.
> Raw potatoes can give you worms.
> Tomatoes are mildly toxic.
> Potatoes and other tubers which are exposed to light become green and
> poisonous.
>
>-----------------------------------
>
>I never heard any of that mumbo-jumbo, but...
>Whoever said that Grandma warned that raw potatoes can give you
>worms...
>
>had a smart Grandma! Potatoes, if grown in infected soil, can
>themselves be infected by trichina worms. I'm surprised that none of
>you so far has remembered any of this from your high-school biology
>classes.
>
>

I don't know about trichina worms, never heard of that one, but when I
was small the dr. told my Mom never to let me play with the raw potatoe
skins (i guess maybe I was helping peel? ;) ) anyway, he said it was
a good way for kids to end up with pinworms. I guess he never said
anything about raw potatoes since they were one of my favorite snacks
as a kid!

Jennifer Dietz
jdi...@eagle.natinst.com