Health Officials Are Trying To Track Down A Spice Product Suspected Of Poisoning Toronto Area Restaurant Patrons

At least 12 people became seriously ill, with four requiring treatment in intensive care, after eating at Delight Restaurant & BBQ in Markham, Ont., over the weekend. Five remained in hospital on Tuesday and York Region Public Health said all are expected to make a full recovery. Officials believe all 12 consumed the toxin from an aconitum plant, which is popular in traditional Chinese medicine, in a chicken dish at the restaurant. Aconite toxin affects the nerves that control the body’s muscles, leading to numbness in the face and extremities, severe gastrointestinal distress, and, in some cases, an irregular heartbeat. Ingestion of large enough amounts, aconite can cause fatal heart arrhythmia. Dr. Barry Pakes, York Region’s medical officer of health, told CBC News on Tuesday that officials believed the restaurant had used a spice product “accidentally contaminated” and provincial and federal agencies were trying to determine if it had been distributed elsewhere in Canada. Delight Restaurant & BBQ, a Toronto-area restaurant has closed and a public health investigation has been launched after several people became seriously ill after eating the restaurant’s food, pictured Tuesday. (Martin Trainor/CBC) “It seems like it’s a relatively small-batch situation, or a distributor or a product that’s pretty niche,” he said. “The main focus of our work is to figure out where it might have gone and make sure we get all that product off the shelf.” Paiks said York County Public Health is awaiting test results from a federal laboratory to confirm the cause of the poisoning. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said only that it was “providing support as the source is investigated.” Delight Restaurant & BBQ was closed Monday and Tuesday and did not respond to requests for comment.

“The Queen of Poisons”

There are about 240 species of aconitum, also known as monkshood and wolfsbane, throughout Asia, North America and Europe. Although popular with gardeners for their bright flowers, which are usually purple or blue, most of the species are highly poisonous and should be handled with care. “There are monkshoods that are in gardens all over the world because they are beautiful plants. They bloom slowly. The bees love them,” said Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Aconitum plants, such as those in rural Devon, England, are common in gardens around the world, despite their toxicity. (Shutterstock/Peter Turner Photography) He recommended wearing rubber or leather gloves while handling the plant to avoid contact with the toxin. The plant’s poison has been used for centuries in hunting and fighting, applied to arrows and spears used to kill animals and enemies, and branded with names in pop culture – from John Keats’ poem Ode to Melancholy to the potion Harry Potter wolfsbane. It’s not just imaginary killers who are drawn to the poisonous plant: in 2010, a British woman was convicted of killing her ex-lover by putting aconite in leftover curry. Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden, says people should wear gloves when handling monk’s plants because of their toxicity. (CBC) “The fatal dose in humans can be as little as two milligrams, which are very small amounts — the size of a sesame seed,” said Dr. Prateek Lala, assistant professor and associate director of applied clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto. . “The dose that everyone [Toronto] The patient he took must have been much, much lower than that if he is already on the road to recovery. And that’s obviously a good thing.”

“Unusual” aconite poisonings in Canada

In 2004, 25-year-old actor Andre Noble died after apparently ingesting monk juice in his home province of Newfoundland. And in early February this year, two people in British Columbia needed hospital treatment after eating ginger powder containing aconitum. But such cases are rare, says Dr. Margaret Thompson, medical director of the Ontario Poison Control Centre. He estimates that the center records one case every five years. Previous cases have involved people taking too high a concentration of a product intended for medicinal use, while others have mistaken the plant for another herb, such as parsley, he said. “That’s actually what happens when it’s not blooming, because they [think] it’s just a nice green plant. People would really think, ‘Oh, I can put some of this in a salad,’” Thompson said. “It’s just a random misidentification.” The Ontario Poison Control Center has received calls in the past about people mistaking aconitum plants for edible herbs during non-flowering seasons. Here, aconitum plants are seen at the Toronto Botanical Garden on Tuesday. (CBC News) There is no antidote for aconite poisoning, so treatment focuses on supportive care, including activated charcoal if the patient seeks treatment early enough, and anti-nausea medications and fluids if they suffer from vomiting or diarrhea. Patients may need a ventilator to help with breathing, or even defibrillation to restore a normal heartbeat, Thompson said.

Aconitum as a medicine, not as a prescription

Aconitum roots are regularly used in Eastern herbal remedies, including traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatic conditions or as a topical or internal anesthetic — but only after a complex process to remove the plant’s toxins. Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, says TCM protocol calls for aconitum roots to be boiled for one to two hours to reduce their toxicity. A TCM practitioner will then take chopsticks, dip them into the concoction, and then put the liquid on their tongue to test for toxicity. “If there is a numbness and tingling sensation, then you have not yet cleared the toxicity of that herb and therefore it cannot be used yet,” Sibbald said. “It’s less a question of dosage, because with almost any dose, there’s a possibility of death,” he said. “It’s whether it’s properly processed or not.” Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, holds an unusual root during a video interview Tuesday. (CBC News) Both Sibbald and Chris Pickrell, a naturopath, herbalist and TCM practitioner from Toronto, said it would be unusual to use aconitum in a Chinese food recipe. “There are no traditional recipes that I know of where it would appear… It has many great uses in Chinese medicine, but it’s never used in cooking,” Pickrell said. While chopped aconitum root and dried ginger may look similar, their Chinese names are quite different, so it was unlikely their labels would be confused, he said. York Region Public Health said anyone with weekend leftovers from the restaurant should throw them out. If anyone who ate from the restaurant had symptoms, they should seek medical attention.

title: “Health Officials Are Trying To Track Down A Spice Product Suspected Of Poisoning Toronto Area Restaurant Patrons Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-05” author: “Debra May”

At least 12 people became seriously ill, with four requiring treatment in intensive care, after eating at Delight Restaurant & BBQ in Markham, Ont., over the weekend. Five remained in hospital on Tuesday and York Region Public Health said all are expected to make a full recovery. Officials believe all 12 consumed the toxin from an aconitum plant, which is popular in traditional Chinese medicine, in a chicken dish at the restaurant. Aconite toxin affects the nerves that control the body’s muscles, leading to numbness in the face and extremities, severe gastrointestinal distress, and, in some cases, an irregular heartbeat. Ingestion of large enough amounts, aconite can cause fatal heart arrhythmia. Dr. Barry Pakes, York Region’s medical officer of health, told CBC News on Tuesday that officials believed the restaurant had used a spice product “accidentally contaminated” and provincial and federal agencies were trying to determine if it had been distributed elsewhere in Canada. Delight Restaurant & BBQ, a Toronto-area restaurant has closed and a public health investigation has been launched after several people became seriously ill after eating the restaurant’s food, pictured Tuesday. (Martin Trainor/CBC) “It seems like it’s a relatively small-batch situation, or a distributor or a product that’s pretty niche,” he said. “The main focus of our work is to figure out where it might have gone and make sure we get all that product off the shelf.” Paiks said York County Public Health is awaiting test results from a federal laboratory to confirm the cause of the poisoning. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said only that it was “providing support as the source is investigated.” Delight Restaurant & BBQ was closed Monday and Tuesday and did not respond to requests for comment.

“The Queen of Poisons”

There are about 240 species of aconitum, also known as monkshood and wolfsbane, throughout Asia, North America and Europe. Although popular with gardeners for their bright flowers, which are usually purple or blue, most of the species are highly poisonous and should be handled with care. “There are monkshoods that are in gardens all over the world because they are beautiful plants. They bloom slowly. The bees love them,” said Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Aconitum plants, such as those in rural Devon, England, are common in gardens around the world, despite their toxicity. (Shutterstock/Peter Turner Photography) He recommended wearing rubber or leather gloves while handling the plant to avoid contact with the toxin. The plant’s poison has been used for centuries in hunting and fighting, applied to arrows and spears used to kill animals and enemies, and branded with names in pop culture – from John Keats’ poem Ode to Melancholy to the potion Harry Potter wolfsbane. It’s not just imaginary killers who are drawn to the poisonous plant: in 2010, a British woman was convicted of killing her ex-lover by putting aconite in leftover curry. Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden, says people should wear gloves when handling monk’s plants because of their toxicity. (CBC) “The fatal dose in humans can be as little as two milligrams, which are very small amounts — the size of a sesame seed,” said Dr. Prateek Lala, assistant professor and associate director of applied clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto. . “The dose that everyone [Toronto] The patient he took must have been much, much lower than that if he is already on the road to recovery. And that’s obviously a good thing.”

“Unusual” aconite poisonings in Canada

In 2004, 25-year-old actor Andre Noble died after apparently ingesting monk juice in his home province of Newfoundland. And in early February this year, two people in British Columbia needed hospital treatment after eating ginger powder containing aconitum. But such cases are rare, says Dr. Margaret Thompson, medical director of the Ontario Poison Control Centre. He estimates that the center records one case every five years. Previous cases have involved people taking too high a concentration of a product intended for medicinal use, while others have mistaken the plant for another herb, such as parsley, he said. “That’s actually what happens when it’s not blooming, because they [think] it’s just a nice green plant. People would really think, ‘Oh, I can put some of this in a salad,’” Thompson said. “It’s just a random misidentification.” The Ontario Poison Control Center has received calls in the past about people mistaking aconitum plants for edible herbs during non-flowering seasons. Here, aconitum plants are seen at the Toronto Botanical Garden on Tuesday. (CBC News) There is no antidote for aconite poisoning, so treatment focuses on supportive care, including activated charcoal if the patient seeks treatment early enough, and anti-nausea medications and fluids if they suffer from vomiting or diarrhea. Patients may need a ventilator to help with breathing, or even defibrillation to restore a normal heartbeat, Thompson said.

Aconitum as a medicine, not as a prescription

Aconitum roots are regularly used in Eastern herbal remedies, including traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatic conditions or as a topical or internal anesthetic — but only after a complex process to remove the plant’s toxins. Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, says TCM protocol calls for aconitum roots to be boiled for one to two hours to reduce their toxicity. A TCM practitioner will then take chopsticks, dip them into the concoction, and then put the liquid on their tongue to test for toxicity. “If there is a numbness and tingling sensation, then you have not yet cleared the toxicity of that herb and therefore it cannot be used yet,” Sibbald said. “It’s less a question of dosage, because with almost any dose, there’s a possibility of death,” he said. “It’s whether it’s properly processed or not.” Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, holds an unusual root during a video interview Tuesday. (CBC News) Both Sibbald and Chris Pickrell, a naturopath, herbalist and TCM practitioner from Toronto, said it would be unusual to use aconitum in a Chinese food recipe. “There are no traditional recipes that I know of where it would appear… It has many great uses in Chinese medicine, but it’s never used in cooking,” Pickrell said. While chopped aconitum root and dried ginger may look similar, their Chinese names are quite different, so it was unlikely their labels would be confused, he said. York Region Public Health said anyone with weekend leftovers from the restaurant should throw them out. If anyone who ate from the restaurant had symptoms, they should seek medical attention.

title: “Health Officials Are Trying To Track Down A Spice Product Suspected Of Poisoning Toronto Area Restaurant Patrons Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-12” author: “Rachel Brigman”

At least 12 people became seriously ill, with four requiring treatment in intensive care, after eating at Delight Restaurant & BBQ in Markham, Ont., over the weekend. Five remained in hospital on Tuesday and York Region Public Health said all are expected to make a full recovery. Officials believe all 12 consumed the toxin from an aconitum plant, which is popular in traditional Chinese medicine, in a chicken dish at the restaurant. Aconite toxin affects the nerves that control the body’s muscles, leading to numbness in the face and extremities, severe gastrointestinal distress, and, in some cases, an irregular heartbeat. Ingestion of large enough amounts, aconite can cause fatal heart arrhythmia. Dr. Barry Pakes, York Region’s medical officer of health, told CBC News on Tuesday that officials believed the restaurant had used a spice product “accidentally contaminated” and provincial and federal agencies were trying to determine if it had been distributed elsewhere in Canada. Delight Restaurant & BBQ, a Toronto-area restaurant has closed and a public health investigation has been launched after several people became seriously ill after eating the restaurant’s food, pictured Tuesday. (Martin Trainor/CBC) “It seems like it’s a relatively small-batch situation, or a distributor or a product that’s pretty niche,” he said. “The main focus of our work is to figure out where it might have gone and make sure we get all that product off the shelf.” Paiks said York County Public Health is awaiting test results from a federal laboratory to confirm the cause of the poisoning. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said only that it was “providing support as the source is investigated.” Delight Restaurant & BBQ was closed Monday and Tuesday and did not respond to requests for comment.

“The Queen of Poisons”

There are about 240 species of aconitum, also known as monkshood and wolfsbane, throughout Asia, North America and Europe. Although popular with gardeners for their bright flowers, which are usually purple or blue, most of the species are highly poisonous and should be handled with care. “There are monkshoods that are in gardens all over the world because they are beautiful plants. They bloom slowly. The bees love them,” said Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Aconitum plants, such as those in rural Devon, England, are common in gardens around the world, despite their toxicity. (Shutterstock/Peter Turner Photography) He recommended wearing rubber or leather gloves while handling the plant to avoid contact with the toxin. The plant’s poison has been used for centuries in hunting and fighting, applied to arrows and spears used to kill animals and enemies, and branded with names in pop culture – from John Keats’ poem Ode to Melancholy to the potion Harry Potter wolfsbane. It’s not just imaginary killers who are drawn to the poisonous plant: in 2010, a British woman was convicted of killing her ex-lover by putting aconite in leftover curry. Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden, says people should wear gloves when handling monk’s plants because of their toxicity. (CBC) “The fatal dose in humans can be as little as two milligrams, which are very small amounts — the size of a sesame seed,” said Dr. Prateek Lala, assistant professor and associate director of applied clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto. . “The dose that everyone [Toronto] The patient he took must have been much, much lower than that if he is already on the road to recovery. And that’s obviously a good thing.”

“Unusual” aconite poisonings in Canada

In 2004, 25-year-old actor Andre Noble died after apparently ingesting monk juice in his home province of Newfoundland. And in early February this year, two people in British Columbia needed hospital treatment after eating ginger powder containing aconitum. But such cases are rare, says Dr. Margaret Thompson, medical director of the Ontario Poison Control Centre. He estimates that the center records one case every five years. Previous cases have involved people taking too high a concentration of a product intended for medicinal use, while others have mistaken the plant for another herb, such as parsley, he said. “That’s actually what happens when it’s not blooming, because they [think] it’s just a nice green plant. People would really think, ‘Oh, I can put some of this in a salad,’” Thompson said. “It’s just a random misidentification.” The Ontario Poison Control Center has received calls in the past about people mistaking aconitum plants for edible herbs during non-flowering seasons. Here, aconitum plants are seen at the Toronto Botanical Garden on Tuesday. (CBC News) There is no antidote for aconite poisoning, so treatment focuses on supportive care, including activated charcoal if the patient seeks treatment early enough, and anti-nausea medications and fluids if they suffer from vomiting or diarrhea. Patients may need a ventilator to help with breathing, or even defibrillation to restore a normal heartbeat, Thompson said.

Aconitum as a medicine, not as a prescription

Aconitum roots are regularly used in Eastern herbal remedies, including traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatic conditions or as a topical or internal anesthetic — but only after a complex process to remove the plant’s toxins. Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, says TCM protocol calls for aconitum roots to be boiled for one to two hours to reduce their toxicity. A TCM practitioner will then take chopsticks, dip them into the concoction, and then put the liquid on their tongue to test for toxicity. “If there is a numbness and tingling sensation, then you have not yet cleared the toxicity of that herb and therefore it cannot be used yet,” Sibbald said. “It’s less a question of dosage, because with almost any dose, there’s a possibility of death,” he said. “It’s whether it’s properly processed or not.” Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, holds an unusual root during a video interview Tuesday. (CBC News) Both Sibbald and Chris Pickrell, a naturopath, herbalist and TCM practitioner from Toronto, said it would be unusual to use aconitum in a Chinese food recipe. “There are no traditional recipes that I know of where it would appear… It has many great uses in Chinese medicine, but it’s never used in cooking,” Pickrell said. While chopped aconitum root and dried ginger may look similar, their Chinese names are quite different, so it was unlikely their labels would be confused, he said. York Region Public Health said anyone with weekend leftovers from the restaurant should throw them out. If anyone who ate from the restaurant had symptoms, they should seek medical attention.

title: “Health Officials Are Trying To Track Down A Spice Product Suspected Of Poisoning Toronto Area Restaurant Patrons Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-04” author: “David Matthews”

At least 12 people became seriously ill, with four requiring treatment in intensive care, after eating at Delight Restaurant & BBQ in Markham, Ont., over the weekend. Five remained in hospital on Tuesday and York Region Public Health said all are expected to make a full recovery. Officials believe all 12 consumed the toxin from an aconitum plant, which is popular in traditional Chinese medicine, in a chicken dish at the restaurant. Aconite toxin affects the nerves that control the body’s muscles, leading to numbness in the face and extremities, severe gastrointestinal distress, and, in some cases, an irregular heartbeat. Ingestion of large enough amounts, aconite can cause fatal heart arrhythmia. Dr. Barry Pakes, York Region’s medical officer of health, told CBC News on Tuesday that officials believed the restaurant had used a spice product “accidentally contaminated” and provincial and federal agencies were trying to determine if it had been distributed elsewhere in Canada. Delight Restaurant & BBQ, a Toronto-area restaurant has closed and a public health investigation has been launched after several people became seriously ill after eating the restaurant’s food, pictured Tuesday. (Martin Trainor/CBC) “It seems like it’s a relatively small-batch situation, or a distributor or a product that’s pretty niche,” he said. “The main focus of our work is to figure out where it might have gone and make sure we get all that product off the shelf.” Paiks said York County Public Health is awaiting test results from a federal laboratory to confirm the cause of the poisoning. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said only that it was “providing support as the source is investigated.” Delight Restaurant & BBQ was closed Monday and Tuesday and did not respond to requests for comment.

“The Queen of Poisons”

There are about 240 species of aconitum, also known as monkshood and wolfsbane, throughout Asia, North America and Europe. Although popular with gardeners for their bright flowers, which are usually purple or blue, most of the species are highly poisonous and should be handled with care. “There are monkshoods that are in gardens all over the world because they are beautiful plants. They bloom slowly. The bees love them,” said Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Aconitum plants, such as those in rural Devon, England, are common in gardens around the world, despite their toxicity. (Shutterstock/Peter Turner Photography) He recommended wearing rubber or leather gloves while handling the plant to avoid contact with the toxin. The plant’s poison has been used for centuries in hunting and fighting, applied to arrows and spears used to kill animals and enemies, and branded with names in pop culture – from John Keats’ poem Ode to Melancholy to the potion Harry Potter wolfsbane. It’s not just imaginary killers who are drawn to the poisonous plant: in 2010, a British woman was convicted of killing her ex-lover by putting aconite in leftover curry. Roger Gettig, director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden, says people should wear gloves when handling monk’s plants because of their toxicity. (CBC) “The fatal dose in humans can be as little as two milligrams, which are very small amounts — the size of a sesame seed,” said Dr. Prateek Lala, assistant professor and associate director of applied clinical pharmacology at the University of Toronto. . “The dose that everyone [Toronto] The patient he took must have been much, much lower than that if he is already on the road to recovery. And that’s obviously a good thing.”

“Unusual” aconite poisonings in Canada

In 2004, 25-year-old actor Andre Noble died after apparently ingesting monk juice in his home province of Newfoundland. And in early February this year, two people in British Columbia needed hospital treatment after eating ginger powder containing aconitum. But such cases are rare, says Dr. Margaret Thompson, medical director of the Ontario Poison Control Centre. He estimates that the center records one case every five years. Previous cases have involved people taking too high a concentration of a product intended for medicinal use, while others have mistaken the plant for another herb, such as parsley, he said. “That’s actually what happens when it’s not blooming, because they [think] it’s just a nice green plant. People would really think, ‘Oh, I can put some of this in a salad,’” Thompson said. “It’s just a random misidentification.” The Ontario Poison Control Center has received calls in the past about people mistaking aconitum plants for edible herbs during non-flowering seasons. Here, aconitum plants are seen at the Toronto Botanical Garden on Tuesday. (CBC News) There is no antidote for aconite poisoning, so treatment focuses on supportive care, including activated charcoal if the patient seeks treatment early enough, and anti-nausea medications and fluids if they suffer from vomiting or diarrhea. Patients may need a ventilator to help with breathing, or even defibrillation to restore a normal heartbeat, Thompson said.

Aconitum as a medicine, not as a prescription

Aconitum roots are regularly used in Eastern herbal remedies, including traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for rheumatic conditions or as a topical or internal anesthetic — but only after a complex process to remove the plant’s toxins. Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, says TCM protocol calls for aconitum roots to be boiled for one to two hours to reduce their toxicity. A TCM practitioner will then take chopsticks, dip them into the concoction, and then put the liquid on their tongue to test for toxicity. “If there is a numbness and tingling sensation, then you have not yet cleared the toxicity of that herb and therefore it cannot be used yet,” Sibbald said. “It’s less a question of dosage, because with almost any dose, there’s a possibility of death,” he said. “It’s whether it’s properly processed or not.” Tim Sibbald, a teacher at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, holds an unusual root during a video interview Tuesday. (CBC News) Both Sibbald and Chris Pickrell, a naturopath, herbalist and TCM practitioner from Toronto, said it would be unusual to use aconitum in a Chinese food recipe. “There are no traditional recipes that I know of where it would appear… It has many great uses in Chinese medicine, but it’s never used in cooking,” Pickrell said. While chopped aconitum root and dried ginger may look similar, their Chinese names are quite different, so it was unlikely their labels would be confused, he said. York Region Public Health said anyone with weekend leftovers from the restaurant should throw them out. If anyone who ate from the restaurant had symptoms, they should seek medical attention.