bracken food poisoning

bracken food poisoning

Poisoning with the fiddleheads of the ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris ), a delicacy popular in maritime Canada and Northeast USA. This food appears to contain a heat-labile toxin that can be destroyed by boiling for 10 minutes. Microwave cooking for short periods may not inactivate the toxin. Other common ferns are known to be either poisonous or carcinogenic.