Food Safety Centre Consultant Dr Ho Yuk-yin urges people to exercise extra care when consuming food products as some of them may contain natural toxins.

Speaking on a radio talk show this morning, Dr Ho said although natural toxins can be found in some plants, post-harvest processing and thorough cooking can destroy some natural toxins, or greatly reduce their toxicity.

When consuming food products, people should pay attention to their cooking or handling method and the intake amount to prevent poisoning.

For flaxseeds that are usually eaten raw, people should limit the intake to small amounts. To prevent toxicological effects, people can cook them thoroughly in boiling water. This method can reduce more than 90% of cyanogenic glycosides in flaxseeds. Baking is a less effective detoxifying method because it can only reduce 10% of cyanogenic glycosides.