This basic food that is eaten 700 million that can become mortal

A basic food that supports millions worldwide carries a hidden danger if it is not handled properly. While a variety of this crop is vital for survival, an identical counterpart can be deadly. The growing dependence on black markets leaves desperate people who cannot distinguish between the two, putting lives at serious risk.

According The guardianCassava, also known as Manic and Yuca, is a basic food for about 700 million people around the world. The perennial plant is native to South America, but was taken to Africa by the explorers of the seventeenth century and then appeared to Asia. Prospera in tropical climates. The plant is very resistant, which survives where many other crops fail and involves less human investment by calories than potatoes. Often it is the poorest communities that depend on cassava for survival.

According to him Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the United States, cassava, a tuberous root often made of flour, contains cyanogenic glycosides, which can cause fatal cyanide poisoning if it is not properly detoxified by soaking, drying and discarded before consumed. Rarely described cyanide poisoning outbreaks associated with acute cassava rarely.

The CDC also mentions that in September 2017, an alleged outbreak by cyanide, which involved 98 cases with two deaths, occurred in western Uganda. Epidemiological and laboratory research identified the consumption of a cassava flour dish made of savage cassava cultivars with high cyanogenic content as the cause of the outbreak.

The education of farmers and consumers about the importance of strict adherence to established degradation methods of cyanogenic glucosides in cassava is essential to prevent cyanide poisoning.

According Scientedirect.com, “” Cassava (Manihot Esculenta Crantz) is a woody bush that belongs to the Spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). The cassava, an annual native crop of South America, is also called Casis or Yuca. It is now cultivated extensively in tropical and subtropical regions, mainly for its edible tubers as a source of carbohydrates. ”