Most of you reading these messages are long time travelers to JA so you should know this already.

Eating unopened ackees can be fatal

Saturday, January 15, 2011

THE Ministry of Health is warning members of the public against eating unfit and unopened ackees, saying its surveillance unit has detected 35 cases of ackee poisoning between December 1, 2010 and January 12, 2011.

Ackee is a very popular Jamaican fruit that should only be picked when ripened and opened naturally on the tree. If not properly ripened, ackee contains high levels of hypoglycin which may be poisonous and can potentially lead to death if consumed.

If not properly ripened, ackee contains high levels of hypoglycin which may be poisonous and can potentially lead to death if consumed.

Symptoms of ackee poisoning include vomiting, stomach cramps/abdominal pain, dizziness, diarrhoea and sweating. If persons are experiencing these symptoms they should seek medical attention immediately and should have a sweet drink while on their way to the health centre or hospital. Children, especially those who are undernourished, are most at risk.

The ackees should be properly cleaned by removing the seed and the pink or reddish membrane, then washed before cooking to prevent possible poisoning, especially because of the high levels of toxins that may be contained in the unripe fruit.

The water that is used to boil the ackee should be discarded immediately and should not be ingested or reused for cooking other foods.

According to the ministry of health, all incidents of ackee poisoning have been from ackees cooked at home. There has been no incident involving tinned ackees.

Health Minister Rudyard Spencer — who has instructed the ministry’s Outbreak Response Team to devise strategies to strengthen the programme of public education as well as to enhance the capacity of the surveillance system at the ministry’s head office — yesterday said special attention should be paid in ensuring that only fit and wellopened ackees are used by householders.

“It cannot be said too often that ackee should be allowed to open naturally and fully on the tree before it is picked and eaten or sold. They should not be opened by force, or by using a knife or any other implement. The water that is used to boil the ackee should be discarded immediately and should not be ingested or reused for cooking other foods such as ground provisions and rice,” the minister stressed.

Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Eating-unopened-ackees-can-be-fatal#ixzz1BAZWUOIo

It takes me a lot of time to clean Ackee properly - you gotta get all that red stuff out.

I've always found it amusing that the national dish of Jamaica is Ackee and Saltfish - the Saltfish is imported from Canada and the Ackee is poisonous, lol.