Did you know tomatoes were once feared as “poison apples” in parts of Europe and early America?
They were hardly alone. Raw kidney beans can make you sick. Cassava contains compounds that can release cyanide. And peanuts have mostly disappeared from airline snack carts because of allergy concerns.
Then there’s Sichuan pepper.
At 50Hertz Tingly Foods, we sell Sichuan pepper and snacks made with it, so its strange history is especially interesting to us. It was restricted from U.S. imports for decades, but not because of its famous buzzing, tingling sensation.
That sent us down a rabbit hole: what other foods have been feared, banned or misunderstood like Sichuan pepper?
Quite a few, it turns out!
1. Tomatoes
Tomatoes are everywhere today, but they were once feared as “poison apples.”
After tomatoes arrived in Europe from the Americas, they caught on in Italy and Spain but were viewed with suspicion in Britain.
English herbalist John Gerard helped solidify that fear. In his 1597 treatise Herbal, he called the tomato plant “rank and stinking” and described the fruit as dangerous. Later guides blamed tomatoes for nausea and vomiting.
The fear stuck for more than 200 years in Britain and North America, where tomatoes were often grown not as food but more as decoration.
Today, it’s hard to imagine pizza, pasta sauce, or ketchup without tomatoes.
2. Raw Kidney Beans
Cooked kidney beans are harmless. Raw kidney beans are toxic.
They contain a lectin called phytohaemagglutinin. Yes, that’s a mouthful. It’s a natural plant protein that can cause severe nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.
According to the FDA, raw red kidney beans can contain 20,000 to 70,000 units of lectin, compared with about 200 to 400 after proper cooking.
Even slow cookers can be a problem if they never get hot enough. Dried kidney beans need a proper soaking and a good boil before they go into the chili pot.
3. Sichuan Pepper
Sichuan pepper was restricted from U.S. imports for decades, but not because of its famous tingle.
The reason? Citrus canker, a bacterial disease that damages citrus trees.
Sichuan pepper belongs to the citrus family, so in 1967 it got swept into a broad U.S. ban meant to stop the disease from spreading.
It still reached some Chinatown kitchens through “unofficial” channels. From 2002 to 2006, USDA inspectors seized Sichuan pepper around the country but didn’t find a single case of citrus canker in the seized products.
In 2004, imports were allowed if the pepper was heated to 140 F for 20 minutes, a treatment that could dull its signature tingling sensation. The rules later changed, and untreated dried Sichuan pepper returned to the U.S.
So the scary part was never what it did to diners. It was what regulators feared it could do to citrus trees.
4. Potatoes
Potatoes had an even stranger reputation than tomatoes.
After arriving in Europe from South America, they were linked to witchcraft, devil worship and even leprosy. According to Farmers’ Almanac, France even banned potatoes from 1748 to 1772 over fears they caused leprosy. Many people refused to eat them, using them instead as livestock feed.
Most of those fears were wrong, but potatoes do have a toxic side. Green or heavily sprouted potatoes can contain more glycoalkaloids, natural plant compounds that can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
No witchcraft or leprosy. But that green potato in the back of your pantry? Best leave it alone.
5. Coffee
Coffee has been banned more than once, usually because authorities feared the people drinking it more than the drink itself.
In 1511, the governor of Mecca ordered coffeehouses closed because men gathered there to socialize and write poetry mocking his government.
In 1633, the Ottoman emperor made coffee drinking a capital offense. In 1675, King Charles II tried to close London coffeehouses because they had become centers for political gossip and “false news.” His order lasted just 11 days.
Coffee wasn’t really the danger. Conversation was!
6. Raw cashews
The “raw” cashews sold in stores aren’t actually raw straight from the tree.
Cashew shells contain irritating chemicals similar to those in poison ivy, so the nuts must be removed and processed.
That risk isn't just theoretical. In 1982, 54 people developed poison ivy-like rashes after eating imported cashews contaminated with shell material.
Modern processing removes the dangerous parts before the cashews reach us.
7. Peanuts
Remember when a tiny bag of peanuts practically meant you were on an airplane?
Southwest was famous for them, but in 2018 the airline stopped serving peanuts over allergy concerns.
Peanuts aren’t banned from airplanes, and passengers can still bring their own. But the once-common snack has mostly disappeared from the beverage cart.
For most people, peanuts are harmless. For someone with a serious allergy, they can be dangerous.
8. Nutmeg
Nutmeg tastes great in cookies and eggnog, but too much can cause hallucinations.
One reason is myristicin, a natural compound that affects the brain. Symptoms have been reported after about 5 g, while 10–15 g, or roughly 2–3 teaspoons, can cause hallucinations, agitation and extreme drowsiness.
Very large amounts can cause serious poisoning, including coma. Nutmeg has also been used to get high by teenagers, including in the viral TikTok “Nutmeg Challenge”.
A little grated over dessert is one thing. A TikTok challenge ending in the ER is another.
9. Cassava
Cassava is a staple food for hundreds of millions of people, but it contains compounds that can release cyanide.
In 2017, 98 people became sick and two died in Uganda after eating improperly processed cassava flour with dangerously high cyanide levels.
Traditional methods like soaking, drying and scraping help reduce these toxic compounds, but proper processing is essential to make cassava safe to eat.
10. Rhubarb
Rhubarb pie is a classic. Rhubarb leaves are another story.
The stalk is edible, but the leaves contain oxalic acid and other poisonous compounds. Eating enough can cause vomiting, seizures and kidney problems. Deaths have even been reported, although they’re rare.
So when a recipe says rhubarb stalks, it really does mean the stalks.
11. Ginkgo Nuts
Ginkgo nuts are eaten across Asia, but too many can be dangerous.
In one documented case, a woman ate around 70 to 80 ginkgo nuts. About four hours later, she began vomiting and having repeated seizures.
The nuts contain ginkgotoxin, a compound that interferes with vitamin B6 and can cause serious neurological symptoms.
Ginkgo nuts are one snack where moderation really matters.
12. Pufferfish
Pufferfish is probably the most famous dangerous food, and its reputation is earned.
Some contain tetrodotoxin, a poison that can cause paralysis and death. The FDA estimates that just 2–3 mg can be lethal to an adult.
Early poisoning can include tingling and numbness of the lips and mouth, followed by weakness, paralysis and death. Cooking or freezing doesn’t destroy the toxin.
Even in Japan, where preparation is tightly regulated, 622 people were poisoned and 17 died between 2004 and 2023. Most cases involved people preparing the fish themselves rather than licensed restaurants.
13. MSG
MSG has had a bad reputation for decades.
Much of it traces back to a 1968 letter in the New England Journal of Medicine describing symptoms after eating at Chinese restaurants. The phrase “Chinese restaurant syndrome” caught on, and MSG became the main suspect.
But the evidence never matched the reputation. The FDA considers MSG generally recognized as safe, and studies haven’t consistently triggered reactions in people who say they’re sensitive to it.
Glutamate also occurs naturally in foods like tomatoes and cheese.
MSG’s reputation became much scarier than the ingredient itself.
So Which Ones Are Actually Dangerous?
It depends.
Tomatoes and MSG were mostly misunderstood. Kidney beans and cassava need proper preparation. Green potatoes, nutmeg and ginkgo nuts can be dangerous under the wrong conditions. Peanuts pose a real allergy risk. Pufferfish really can be poisonous.
Coffee was banned because authorities feared the people gathering to drink it. Sichuan pepper was restricted to protect citrus trees.
Sometimes the scary reputation is deserved. Sometimes it isn’t.
And sometimes the real story is stranger than the warning.
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