Cassave is echter een basisvoedsel dat door 500 miljoen mensen wordt gegeten en waarvan jaarlijks honderden miljoenen tonnen worden geproduceerd.
Het is een plant die gedijt in tropische klimaten en oorspronkelijk uit Zuid-Amerika komt. De grootste producent ter wereld is echter momenteel Nigeria.
Cassava is a popular food and part of the staple diet of half a billion people, but the roots, peel and leaves of the plant are dangerous to eat raw because they contain toxic substances which can produce hydrogen cyanide.
Sweeter versions of cassava can contain as low as 20mg of cyanide per kilogram, but among the bitterest strains that figure can increase to 1,000mg of cyanide.
Cassava is a staple food for 500 million people, but parts of the plant are toxic
The World Health Organisation estimates that cassava poisoning kills about 200 people a year, so while it may be along the ‘world’s deadliest’ foods, the number of people who eat it regularly and are fine is very high indeed.
