A vegetable farmer in Dalian (Pulan shop) saw an article from a local newspaper interviewing me, and specially sent a letter asking me such a question: After the potatoes are dried, is the potato skin a bit green? Is it poisonous to eat?

< p>　　 This question must start from potato germination. Potatoes can easily germinate at the right temperature and time. As we all know—almost all nutrition textbooks are written this way—germinated potatoes can cause food poisoning because the germinated potatoes contain the toxic component solanine, which can cause food poisoning, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc. Intestinal symptoms.

　　 In fact, normal potatoes that do not germinate also contain traces of solanine (of course, it is completely harmless), and their content increases greatly (tens of times) after germination. After the potato skins are green, the solanine content has also increased. But whether sprouted potatoes or green potatoes cause solanine poisoning is affected by many factors. When I was a child, I lived in the countryside. Every spring, the farmers dug down the sprouts from the sprouted potatoes (the size of the egg yolk) and planted them (planted) in the ground. I heard who has been poisoned by food-I mean, the solanine in the potatoes is mainly concentrated in the germination site. After the buds of the germinated potatoes are dug out (at least the size of the egg yolk), the content of soberin is reduced, no Can cause food poisoning. In addition-I am not advocating eating sprouted potatoes, I just want to tell you one thing-rural spring sprouted potatoes (after digging out the sprouts) have a very unique taste, which is more delicious than the newly unearthed potatoes, and I still remember the taste. To confirm my memory, I just called my mother and she provided me an important message: Such potatoes should be soaked in water for 1 to 2 hours before eating. This is also an important measure to avoid solanine poisoning, because solanine is water soluble and can be washed off.

　　After digging out buds and soaking in water, the content of germinated or green potato solanine will decrease, which will not cause food poisoning (acute poisoning), but there is still a problem: regular intake of a small amount of dragon Will Kwai Su cause chronic poisoning? Current research does not seem to confirm that Solanine has chronic (or cumulative) toxicity. Although there are articles on the Internet that regularly eating a small amount of solanine can cause fetal malformations and therefore advise pregnant women not to eat potatoes, but I cannot find the basis for this statement (research paper). ——I''m worried, maybe someone will suggest one day: You can''t eat potatoes because it contains solanine. Such suggestions will definitely increase the number of blog views, huh, huh.

　　 Long-winded a lot, my original intention is not to advocate sprout potatoes to eat casually. Maybe I advocate throwing away the sprouted potatoes as the safest and most reliable, but the vegetable farmer who consulted me will suffer a lot because the potatoes in his family have become green. Considering my experience of eating sprouted potatoes as a child when he was a child, I did not recommend throwing away sprouted or green potatoes.

Finally, I must emphasize that improper handling of sprouted potatoes can indeed cause food poisoning, especially in collective canteens or catering establishments. Don’t expect staff to seriously dig out sprouts or soak them in clean water. Therefore, such reports appear from time to time:

　　 September 22, 2006, 17:05-22:00, Xiaohebian Primary School, Tonghongdian Township, Huaning County, Yuxi City reported 119 students with abdominal pain, nausea, Symptoms such as vomiting, dizziness, and throat numbness were confirmed by epidemiological investigation as food poisoning caused by eating sprouted, green potatoes together, and the number of poisonings was 51. ——"Chinese School Hygiene" Magazine Issue No.9, 2007

　　On the evening of March 17, 2007, a food poisoning incident occurred in Tangnaihai Township Middle School in Xinghai County, which caused 4 people to be poisoned. After field investigation, clinical symptoms and epidemiological analysis, it was confirmed that it was poisoned by potato bud toxin. ——《Disease Surveillance 》2008, Issue 5