Woman Nearly Dies Of 'Solanine Poisoning' From A Regular Potato

When you think of dangerous foods, you might picture peanuts, which can be deadly to those with allergies , or even that puffer fish, which, if not cut right, can kill someone eating it, but one thing you probably wouldn't imagine as being hazardous to your health is a simple potato. The innocuous tuber is used in meals every day and never seems to be a problem, but that wasn't the case for one woman, and now she is warning others about the potential potato peril .

Maria Harless was craving some mashed potatoes, so she grabbed some potatoes from her kitchen, smashed them and before long was enjoying a bowl of warm mashed potatoes. She went to bed but soon after, woke up with a pounding headache, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. She was in such bad shape that she went to the ER.

Harless told her local FOX affiliate , "I just couldn’t think of what it was except for maybe something I ate and that’s when I started to backtrack, what did I eat today? And then that little voice in my head heard my friend say don't eat potatoes if they're turning green." Doctors agreed with that friend and diagnosed Maria with solanine poisoning. Harless explained, "Apparently if the potatoes are green or they have too many eyes on them, if you have enough of it, you can get sick from solanine poisoning."

According to Rocky Mountain Poison Control , solanine is produced when potatoes undergo photosynthesis and turn green. That happens when they are stored in a place with direct sunlight. The effects are similar to what Maria experienced, but can be worse, and can include hallucinations, delirium, a coma and, in extreme cases, death.

Maria isn't the first victim either. In 1979, 78 schoolboys were sickened after eating food in the school cafeteria made from potatoes left in storage since the previous term. Long before then, in 1899, a similar issue happened to 56 German soldiers who had eaten cooked green potatoes. In 1925, a family of seven was poisoned from solanine as well and sadly, two of them died. And in 1983, 61 school children and staff in Canada fell ill within minutes of eating baked potatoes that had a green tinge to them.

Thankfully, these days, fatal cases of solanine poisoning are rare and most commercial potatoes are screened for solanine, but if stored improperly, the solanine can build up to dangerous levels. Experts suggest cutting green parts off any potato before cooking with it, and also removing the eyes of green potatoes since those areas contain higher concentrations of solanine. Better yet, if a potato is green, don't cook with it at all. As for storage, keep them in a dark place, out of the sunlight.