A fatal error.
In Deutsch-Wagram, Lower Austria, a couple died after ingesting a soup made from what they thought was wild garlic, reports the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung.
The two elderly people had picked this aromatic plant themselves, which is harvested between March and the end of spring in the undergrowth, to prepare a soup.
But a few hours after eating, the victims had to be taken to hospital.
“We suspected it was food poisoning.
When we transported the two people to hospital, their condition was stable,” the Red Cross told the newspaper.
The couple eventually died a few days later from poisoning.
Colchicine, a deadly poison
The victims probably confused wild garlic with another toxic plant: colchicum.
The latter contains colchicine, a deadly substance which acts on the inside of cells and which can kill within a few days.
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Between 2020 and 2022, in France, 28 cases of confusion between colchicum and wild garlic (or more rarely wild leek) were reported to the health authorities.
Two people died, reports the National Food Safety Agency (ANSES).
The people who were victims of these poisonings had cooked the leaves in pesto sauce for half of them.
Crumple the leaves, look at the bulbs
To avoid confusion, you have to trust your sense of smell.
Wild garlic has a characteristic garlic odor, especially if you crush its leaves.
The latter are also important: those of wild garlic are carried by long white stems, its bulb is elongated and white, while the leaves of colchicum are more rigid and its bulb is long and dark.
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ANSES advises not to pick the plant in batches, to avoid mixing species and not to consume anything if in doubt.
If a bitter taste is felt when tasting, then you should stop eating immediately and contact a poison control center.