Peanuts
Peanuts are a common ingredient in snacks, main dishes, and desserts, but they can cause allergic reactions in many people.
The most severe response is anaphylaxis, which is treated at first with a quick epinephrine injection. Since anaphylaxis can lead to severe constriction of the airways, shock, and even loss of consciousness, it is dangerous enough to cause death if left untreated.
Ackee
Enjoying the pear-shaped fruit ackee — the national fruit of Jamaica — can be tricky: It must be allowed to fully ripen before harvesting and prepared properly to be safe to eat.
Ackee contains toxins that suppress the body’s ability to release glucose, unbalancing your blood sugar levels, and potentially leading to a variety of side effects – or even death.
Due to its dangerous side effects Importation of the raw ackee fruit is banned in the U.S.
Bullfrog
Another hazardous dish belongs to the country of Namibia in Africa. The Giant Namibian (African) Bullfrog is a delicacy that many locals enjoy feasting upon – just like in France, where frog legs are a popular delicacy. The only difference is Namibians prefer to eat not just the legs, but the whole frog itself- and bullfrogs can be poisonous.
The deadly risks come from when frog is eaten at the wrong time of year, or before it begins croaking. The poisons present in its body can cause fatal kidney failure. Those who do choose to risk their lives by eating the frogs prematurely must take measures to ensure that they do not consume the poison.
This includes lining their cooking pots with dry wood, which supposedly neutralises the poison and prevents a distressing and unpleasant death.
Casu Marzu
Casu Marzu is a cheese that originates from the island of Sardinia.
The dish, however, is far from pleasant and was actually banned by the EU because of the health risks associated with it. The name Casu Marzu translates to rotten cheese.
There are many types of rotten or mouldy cheese enjoyed around the world but this type of cheese actually contains thousands of live maggots! The cheese is deliberately left outside in the heat in order for festering cheese flies to lay their eggs inside. This results in a maggot-ridden cheese dish. In order for this recipe to be eaten, the maggots have to remain living or else the locals will even tell you that it is too toxic to eat.
The maggots still remain dangerous even when alive, however, as they can cause allergic reactions and even lead to intestinal larval infection. If the maggots survive in the stomach, they could eventually feed their way into the intestinal walls, causing horrendous stomach pains, vomiting, diarrhoea or even death.
Raw Meat and Uncooked Eggs
Raw meat — including red meat, poultry, and seafood — and uncooked eggs can contain salmonella bacteria.
Salmonella can cause gastroenteritis in humans, although salmonella poisoning itself is not life threatening, it can lead to serious complications, such as bacteraemia (when salmonella enters the bloodstream) and that can be life-threatening to those with weaker immunities.
To avoid salmonella you should exercise good hygiene when preparing meat, and ensure any poultry is cooked before serving. Pregnant women should also not eat uncooked egg.