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Man dies after preparing and eating highly poisonous pufferfish himself using only lemon
The sister of the Brazilian man, Magno Sergio Gomes, who died after eating a pufferfish reportedly gifted to him, said her brother had never handled the species before.
Pufferfish is highly poisonous and a single fish is a thousand times more lethal than cyanide, enough to kill as many as 30 humans. Sadly, Magno wasn’t aware of this when he and his buddy boiled the pufferfish and ate it with lemon juice.
Deceased man had ‘never cleaned’ the poisonous fish before
The 46-year-old man passed away on January 27 after spending 35 days in the hospital. Magno and his unnamed buddy reportedly consumed the pufferfish that was gifted to the deceased.
His sister, Myrian Gomes Lopes, revealed after her brother’s death that he had never handled the fish before, so he simply gutted the fish and removed its liver before boiling it to eat, reports The Mirror.
Magno and his friend who miraculously survived, started to feel ill within 45 minutes after consuming the boiled fish, whose source isn’t known.
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“Magno started to feel numb in his mouth. Then he went with his wife to the hospital, driving his car. When he got there, his mouth was even more numb, and he felt sick. Soon after, he had a cardiac arrest that lasted eight minutes,” she shared with the outlet.
He had several seizures three days after being admitted to the hospital and had to be placed on life support, although he never recovered. While Magno’s friend has survived, he is facing issues with his legs.
Pufferfish consist of a poison called tetrodotoxin, which it uses to fight predators. But the venom, when digested, interferes with the signals transmitted to muscles from nerves, resulting in paralysis and even death.
Can you eat a pufferfish fish?
Pufferfish is safe to consume only when it’s prepared by a professional chef who is trained to clean it. The fish, also known as Fugu, is a famous delicacy in Japan.
Any dish made with this species of fish is only served in restaurants where a qualified handler works and they are managed by the Japanese government. Elsewhere in the world, you can find Fugu in restaurants with licensed chefs trained to clean the fish.
Non-professional cooks and amateurs are strictly advised against preparing the pufferfish as it can pose a great threat to the consumer’s life.
The poisonous parts of the fish are carefully removed by trained handlers, before washing off the blood from the meat. According to Japan.org, “More parts are disposed of than the edible parts overall, and it takes time and effort to cut up the meat.”
Furthermore, the poisonous parts of the pufferfish need to be disposed of in a specific manner, which is said to be a “legal obligation.” Once separated from the edible parts, the rest of teh fish is kept in a special lockable storage container, which is later burned or disposed of in a manner that doesn’t cause any danger to health. Restaurants that fail to follow the protocol can face severe punishments.
