News / Health & Wellness
Puffer Fish in Thailand Kills 15 People
In Thailand, vendors have been selling the meat of poisonous puffer fish as salmon, killing at least 15 people over the past three years. About 115 people have been hospitalized.
The fish was banned in Thailand five years ago, but it is still being sold in large quantities at local markets and restaurants. The ovaries, liver and intestines of the puffer fish contain a poison so potent that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it can "produce rapid and violent death."
The Public Health Ministry of Thailand prohibits the production, selling, export, and import of puffer fish and offenders could face two years in prison and a 20,000 baht fine.
In Japan, the fish, known as fugu, is cooked and prepared very delicately and is a very popular dish.
