How to identify lentil poisoning and how to treat lentil poisoning

If we eat lentils and eat improperly, poisoning may occur. How can we prevent and treat it?

Lentil poisoning culprit

These are the natural toxins such as hemagglutinin and saponin in lentils. These toxins are relatively heat-resistant and can only be destroyed after being heated to 100°C for a period of time. Methods such as blanching lentils in boiling water and frying lentils over rapid fire often fail to completely destroy the natural toxins in them due to the short processing time and insufficient frying (boiling) temperature. These toxins can strongly irritate the gastrointestinal tract and cause poisoning after consumption. When processing lentils at home and in restaurants, it is easy to cook thoroughly because of the small pot and small amount, and poisoning rarely occurs. However, when frying lentils in collective canteens, because the pot is large and the amount is large, the frying is uneven, it is not easy to cook thoroughly, and the toxic components cannot be fully destroyed, which can easily cause poisoning after eating. Therefore, most lentil poisoning incidents occur in construction site canteens, company canteens, etc., and there are also fast food companies.

How to Recognize Lentil Poisoning

A few minutes to 2 to 4 hours after eating lentils, the poisoned person will experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and watery stools. A few people may have headaches, dizziness, numbness of the limbs, chest tightness, and palpitations.

How to provide first aid and treatment

If the above symptoms occur, you should induce vomiting immediately, by stimulating the root of the tongue, pharynx or taking emetics orally. If the symptoms are severe, you should go to the hospital immediately for symptomatic treatment and prevention of complications. Generally, as long as the treatment is timely, most patients can recover in 1 to 3 days.

Preventing lentil poisoning is actually very simple

The prevention method is very simple. Just cook the lentils thoroughly to destroy the toxins. When blanching with water, the lentils should lose their original green color, hardness and beany smell. When frying lentils, the amount of each pot should not exceed half of the capacity. After frying with oil, add an appropriate amount of water, cover the pot, keep simmering at 100℃ for more than 10 minutes, and use a spatula to turn the lentils to make them evenly heated. In addition, when buying, choose tender beans. It is best not to buy or eat old lentils. Before processing, it is best to remove the tips and pods of the lentils and soak them in water for 15 minutes, so that they are safer to eat. Special warning to collective dining units, such as construction site canteens, collective canteens of government agencies and schools, canteens of hotels and guesthouses, etc., must follow the principle of fully cooking and cannot be sloppy.

There are many food poisoning incidents every summer, and most of them are caused by lentils, nitrites and bacteria. People should pay attention to the following three points when processing and eating food:

First, the lentils must be cooked and stewed thoroughly, and uncooked lentils should not be eaten;

Second, the use of nitrites is prohibited during the cooking process;

Third, do not eat rotten or spoiled food to prevent bacterial food poisoning.