Top 10s Top 10 foods to make your skin crawl

Date Published:

27/10/2008

Is it OK to eat runny egg white? Will green crisps make you puke? Charlie Cottrell channels Scooby-Doo to investigate our greatest food fears. Don't have nightmares

Anti fur-campaign

Back away from the mouldy peach, says the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Once food sports a furry jacket it's time to bin it. Don't be tempted to cut off the mouldy part - the rest might look OK but moulds and fungi produce invisible toxins (mycotoxins, for all you science buffs) that can penetrate food and make you very sick. There are times to be frugal but this is not one of them.

Want fries with that?

You're at a dinner party. Your host serves up delicious looking chicken skewers but when you pull the meat off the stick, there's an unmistakable pink tinge in the centre. Should you make your excuses or stop being a princess and eat up? "Poultry and game, such as chicken, turkey, duck and goose, can contain bacteria," says the FSA. "They should be cooked until there's no pink meat left. The meat should also be piping hot in the middle."

*Gulp*

The safety of this sweetener, found in diet drinks and sugar-free products, has been hotly debated. In 2005, Italian research body Ramazzini Foundation reported tumour development in rats given doses of aspartame equivalent to the approved Acceptable Daily Intake of 40mg per kilogram of body weight per day. In response, the European Commission conducted independent research and confirmed its stance that 'on the basis of all the evidence currently available, that there is no need to further review the safety of aspartame nor to revise the previously established ADI'. The FSA supports this view and deems aspartame ,at ADI levels, safe for consumption.

It's all white

Boiling an egg to perfection is a tricky business as anyone who's diligently counted down their three minutes to be met with a quivering layer of albumen will tell you. Uncooked egg white is unsightly but is it dangerous enough to warrant binning breakfast? "Not if the egg carries the Lion Mark," says Kevin Coles from the British Egg Information Service. "Salmonella's the only thing you really have to worry about with British eggs. The Lion Mark means these eggs come from hens vaccinated against salmonella."

Just rice, Michael

It may look whiter than white (unless it's brown) but reheated rice can give you food poisoning. The danger isn't the reheating process, but the way rice has been stored before it is reheated. "Uncooked rice can contain spores of bacillus cereus", says the FSA, "when rice is cooked, the spores can survive. Then, if the rice is left standing at room temperature, the spores will germinate into bacteria (which) multiply and may produce toxins that cause vomiting or diarrhoea. Reheating the rice won't get rid of these toxins." If you're determined to heat your rice twice, cool it within an hour, keep it in the fridge and eat within 24 hours.

Mmm-SG

Developed in Japan in the early 1900s, the flavour enhancer, monosodium glutamate, has been blamed for a variety of health problems from headaches to blindness, but is MSG really bad for you? The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food (COT) saw some damage to nerve cells in the brain of lab animals but only at very high doses and predominantly when the MSG was administered by injection. The FDA, however, maintains consumption of glutamate in food does not cause this effect. It does, however, note that people with severe, poorly controlled asthma may suffer MSG intolerance and a worsening of asthmatic symptoms.

Oy, oy capt'n

Shellfish are one of the richest dietary sources of the key nutrients needed by the brain. But does that mean you can just nip down to the coast and scoop up a bucketful? "Shellfish should not be collected from any areas that we have designated as 'prohibited' as these areas will exhibit harmful E.coli levels which may not be rendered safe after cooking," says Bradley Smythe at the FSA.

Any raw or undercooked shellfish can contain harmful viruses and bacteria. Shellfish such as clams and oysters are 'filter feeders' meaning the water they live in, which might be polluted, passes through them. "It should be fine to eat shellfish that has been properly cooked, because this usually kills any bacteria or viruses in them."

Buy seafood from reputable sources, make sure it's fresh, refrigerated or on ice and don't buy cooked fish or shellfish (such as shrimp or crab) that is in the same display case as raw fish and shellfish.

Bloody hell

You've just splashed out on a lovely piece of steak but when you get home you notice a greenish-grey patch on the surface - cook it or chuck it? "Generally meat that's grey/green is fine to eat," says Julian Fairfax from Broad Stripe butchers, "vacuum packed meat goes this colour because it has been starved of oxygen to keep it fresh. Take the meat out of the packet, leave it to sit for fifteen minutes and it should come back to a lovely cherry red colour. If it doesn't it may be spoiled. Smell is a good indicator too. If it smells fresh it's good to eat."

Chug, chug, chug

"'Use by' means exactly that," says the FSA. "Even if it looks and smells fine, using food after this date could put your health at risk and cause food poisoning." Make sure you follow storage instructions on food labels, otherwise the food might not last until the 'use by' date. After its 'best before' date food should be safe but it might begin to lose its flavour and texture.

Dare you?

Spuds develop green bits where they have been exposed to sun while growing and a toxin called solanine is produced. According to Dr Chris of Cambridge University's Naked Scientists consuming 5kg of solanine riddled potatoes would be a fatal dose. But one tiny crisp? 4Food questioned Walkers on whether to waver. A spokesperson said: "The green colour sometimes found in crisps is due to chlorophyll, which develops naturally when a potato is exposed to light. At Walkers, we try to remove any crisps where this has happened, although green crisps are totally harmless."

Not so spooky after all.

Boo! Try your (severed) hand at these Halloween recipes

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