Oceanian Foodways — Safety Note

Comparison

⚠ DESCRIPTION, NOT INSTRUCTION. CIGUATERA is endemic to tropical reef fish across the Pacific, is not destroyed by cooking, freezing or curing, and cannot be detected by appearance or smell; which species and which reefs are affected varies locally and is local knowledge. PUFFERFISH and some other reef species are dangerous outright. CASSAVA requires correct processing. CYCAD seeds — used in parts of Australia, Guam and elsewhere — are toxic until leached over days, and a documented neurological illness on Guam has been associated with cycad consumption. Fermented breadfruit and taro are live-culture preparations. Kava is associated with documented liver concerns at high or solvent-extracted doses and interacts with alcohol and medicines. ⚠ EARTH-OVEN COOKING IS A REAL FOOD-SAFETY AND BURN RISK: a pit that loses heat or seal under-cooks, and some stones explode when heated. ⚠ TURTLE, DUGONG, SEABIRDS AND CERTAIN FISH APPEAR IN THE TRADITIONAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD AND ARE NOW PROTECTED OR RESTRICTED, in some places with customary rights recognised for particular peoples and not for anybody else. They are recorded as heritage and law, never as an invitation. ⚠ AND RESIDUAL RADIOLOGICAL CONTAMINATION affects specific atolls; local and national guidance governs. Current national guidance governs throughout.