Caribbean Foodways — Safety Note

Comparison

⚠ DESCRIPTION, NOT INSTRUCTION. ACKEE is toxic unless the fruit has opened naturally on the tree and only the aril is used; unripe ackee causes Jamaican vomiting sickness, which has been fatal. BITTER CASSAVA is toxic until correctly processed. CIGUATERA poisoning from reef fish — barracuda, large grouper, amberjack — is documented across the region and cannot be removed by cooking. Raw conch and other raw shellfish carry documented risk, as does hand-gathered shellfish. Land crab, salt-cured meats, home-fermented drinks and long-kept one-pot dishes all carry documented risks. Some plants in Rastafari, Vodou, Santería and Obeah practice are ritual or medicinal rather than food and are not recorded as food. Current national guidance governs.