"Thought It Was Spring Greens and Shared It"... Beware of Poisonous Plant Poisoning Accidents

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] During the spring season when new sprouts and shoots emerge, poisoning accidents often occur due to mistaking poisonous plants for edible spring greens, so special caution is required.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 16th, from 2010 to 2019, there were a total of 20 food poisoning incidents caused by natural toxins such as poisonous plants and mushrooms in Korea, resulting in 128 patients receiving hospital treatment.

Spring poisoning accidents occur when wild poisonous plants are mistakenly consumed as edible greens. The young leaves of some spring greens and poisonous plants look very similar in appearance and shape, making it difficult for the general public to distinguish them.

In particular, since the harvested poisonous plants are often shared with others nearby, an average of 7 people (128 people/20 cases) are affected per incident, causing significant casualties.

Experts emphasize that to prevent such safety accidents, above all, one should neither harvest nor eat mountain greens that they do not know well. It is difficult to distinguish edible greens from poisonous plants by sight alone, and relying on materials such as photos is even more dangerous.

Also, among edible mountain greens, species such as daylily shoots, durup (Aralia elata) shoots, darae (Actinidia arguta) shoots, and bracken contain trace amounts of toxins, so they must be boiled in boiling water to sufficiently remove toxic substances before consumption.

If symptoms such as vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or difficulty breathing appear after eating mountain greens, go to the hospital immediately, and bring the consumed greens to the hospital for accurate diagnosis.

Kim Jong-han, Director of the Prevention and Safety Policy Division at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, urged, "As the weather warms, many people go to harvest greens, but unless you are an expert, it is difficult to distinguish poisonous plants, so do not harvest or consume mountain greens or medicinal herbs that you do not know."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.