02 March 2023 , 09:09
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Marks and Spencer has apologised after displaying potentially poisonous daffodils next to spring onions under a sign saying 'eat well'.
The bunches of flowers, which had not yet bloomed and as such could easily be mistaken for a vegetable, can be harmful if ingested.
A toxic chemical called lycorine, which is found in daffodils, causes stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting.
And a gardening expert warned that biting one of the flowers is like “swallowing a box of tiny needles” because of the presence of microscopic crystals.
Botanist James Wong, who has appeared on Gardeners' Question Time and Secrets of Your Own Food, took to twitter to ask M&S to reconsider the display.
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The flowers were next to bunched spring onions (Jam Press/James Wong)In a social media post tagging the M&S Twitter account, he wrote that daffodils are “the single most common cause of plant-based poisoning”.
He added: “I don’t want to get any staff in trouble. But you need better training asap.
“Daffodils are filled with microscopic crystals, so biting into one is like swallowing a box of tiny needles. Properly nasty.”
Metro reported that is is more common for people to become unwell after eating the onion-like bulbs, which contain more lycorine than the rest of the plant.
Bristol's Chinese population was warned against consuming the stalks and leaves of the flower in 2012 after 10 people were hospitalised by severe vomiting.
Marks and Spencer apologised for the display after it was questioned on social media (PA)That prompted the Health Protection Agency to recommend that supermarkets put warnings in English, Cantonese and Mandarin on daffodil labels over fears they were being mistaken for a chive used in Chinese cooking.
Professor Paul Cosford, the director for health protection at Public Health England, wrote to supermarkets three years later advising them not to display daffodils near food.
A spokesperson for Marks and Spencer said: “Customer safety is our priority and our British daffodils are clearly labelled with an on-pack warning that they are not safe to consume.
“This was a genuine error in one of our stores and as a precaution, we are reminding all stores to make sure the flowers are displayed properly.
“We apologise for any confusion caused.”
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