{"id":44983,"date":"2026-10-06T17:35:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T17:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983"},"modified":"2026-10-06T17:35:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T17:35:16","slug":"the-deadliest-food-in-the-world-the-truth-about-cassava-and-the-risk-of-poisoning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983","title":{"rendered":"The \u201cDeadliest Food in the World\u201d? The Truth About Cassava and the Risk of Poisoning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cassava is an important staple food eaten by hundreds of millions of people around the world. However, it naturally contains cyanogenic glycosides, including linamarin, which can release hydrogen cyanide when the plant is cut, crushed, grated, or chewed. Cyanide is highly toxic because it interferes with the body’s ability to use oxygen. This does not mean cassava is inherently poisonous: properly processed cassava is widely and safely consumed, while the greatest danger comes from raw or inadequately processed roots, especially varieties with higher cyanogenic le…Continue Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n

The way cassava is prepared is therefore extremely important. Depending on the variety and the traditional food being made, preparation can involve peeling, cutting, grating, soaking, fermenting, drying, pressing, and cooking. These processes can reduce cyanogenic compounds, while simply guessing that a root is safe\u2014or relying on its taste\u2014is not a dependable safety test. People unfamiliar with cassava should avoid experimenting with raw roots or using random preparation methods found online, particularly when the variety or source is unknown.<\/p>\n

Eating improperly prepared cassava can, in serious cases, cause cyanide poisoning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, difficulty breathing, rapid breathing, abnormal heart rate, seizures, loss of consciousness, and cardiovascular collapse. Repeated exposure to inadequately processed cassava has also been associated with konzo, a neurological disorder that can cause weakness and difficulty walking. Severe symptoms after consuming improperly prepared cassava require emergency medical attention.<\/p>\n

The real lesson is not that people should stop eating cassava, but that they should understand how it needs to be processed. Cassava is primarily a source of carbohydrates and can be part of a normal diet when properly prepared, although diets heavily dependent on it should also include adequate protein, vitamins, minerals, and other foods. Properly processed commercial cassava products are generally suitable when preparation instructions are followed. The dramatic phrase \u201cthe deadliest food in the world\u201d oversimplifies the issue: cassava is a food with a genuine processing-related toxicological risk, but it is widely and safely eaten when handled correctly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cassava is an important staple food eaten by hundreds of millions of people around the world. However, it naturally contains cyanogenic glycosides,\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44984,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nThe \u201cDeadliest Food in the World\u201d? The Truth About Cassava and the Risk of Poisoning - New50<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983\" \/>\n<link rel=\"next\" href=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983&page=2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The \u201cDeadliest Food in the World\u201d? The Truth About Cassava and the Risk of Poisoning - New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cassava is an important staple food eaten by hundreds of millions of people around the world. However, it naturally contains cyanogenic glycosides,\u2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"New50\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-10-06T17:35:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"administrator\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"administrator\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983\",\"name\":\"The \u201cDeadliest Food in the World\u201d? The Truth About Cassava and the Risk of Poisoning - New50\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-10-06T17:35:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-10-06T17:35:16+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1200},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/\",\"name\":\"New50\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06\",\"name\":\"administrator\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"administrator\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/new50.info\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The \u201cDeadliest Food in the World\u201d? The Truth About Cassava and the Risk of Poisoning - New50","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983","next":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983&page=2","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The \u201cDeadliest Food in the World\u201d? The Truth About Cassava and the Risk of Poisoning - New50","og_description":"Cassava is an important staple food eaten by hundreds of millions of people around the world. However, it naturally contains cyanogenic glycosides,\u2026","og_url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983","og_site_name":"New50","article_published_time":"2026-10-06T17:35:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"administrator","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"administrator","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983","name":"The \u201cDeadliest Food in the World\u201d? The Truth About Cassava and the Risk of Poisoning - New50","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg","datePublished":"2026-10-06T17:35:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-10-06T17:35:16+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?p=44983#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/new50.info\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/836084668_1569098795262690_1469533638743917078_n.jpg","width":1000,"height":1200},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#website","url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/","name":"New50","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/dd6d79e2639e598df1608cbfdfb86b06","name":"administrator","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/new50.info\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d3aa616fe0651f861132c90ce32df595?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"administrator"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/new50.info"],"url":"https:\/\/new50.info\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44983"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44983"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44983\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44985,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44983\/revisions\/44985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new50.info\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}