1. Green unripe tomatoes
Green tomatoes contain solanine, a toxic substance. Eating unripe green tomatoes leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and may trigger poisoning symptoms such as nausea and vomiting; raw consumption carries higher risks.
2. Rotten Chinese cabbages
Consuming rotten cabbages causes hypoxia in the human body, leading to headaches, dizziness, nausea and bloating. Severe cases involve convulsions, coma and even life-threatening conditions.
3. Rootless bean sprouts
Herbicides are overused during production to grow rootless bean sprouts. Herbicides contain harmful substances that cause cancer, fetal malformations and gene mutation.
4. Fresh daylilies
Fresh daylilies are highly toxic while dried ones are safe. Fresh daylilies contain colchicine, which causes dry throat, burning stomach pain and hematuria. To remove toxicity, blanch fresh daylilies in boiling water, then soak in cold water for over 2 hours with one water change halfway through.
5. Sprouted potatoes
Sprouts and green peels of sprouted potatoes have high solanine content and easily cause food poisoning. Sprouted and green-skinned potatoes should not be eaten.
6. Rotten ginger
Rotten ginger produces safrole with strong toxicity. Even tiny intake can lead to poisoning and degeneration of liver cells.
7. Moldy tea leaves
Mold on tea is caused by contamination of penicillium and aspergillus. Drinking tea brewed from moldy leaves may cause dizziness and diarrhea in mild cases, or necrosis of vital organs in severe cases.
8. Spotted sweet potatoes
Black spot fungus infects sweet potatoes and forms dark spots, which easily lead to poisoning after ingestion.
9. Yellow tremella
Yellow discoloration indicates tremella is contaminated by flavobacterium. Eating it causes dizziness, stomachache and diarrhea.
10. Under-pickled preserved vegetables
Insufficient salt or pickling time shorter than 8 days may result in nitrite poisoning.
11. Discolored laver
Laver that turns blue-purple after cold water soaking was contaminated with toxic substances before drying and packaging, and must not be consumed.
12. Fresh broad beans
Some people develop allergic hemolytic syndrome after eating fresh broad beans, accompanied by general fatigue and anemia.
13. Over plump bean sprouts