Health and safety warning not to eat daffodils

Health and safety bosses have warned Scottish people not to eat daffodils. They fear some people might have the blooms for lunch instead of putting them in a vase and looking at them. So they’re putting out the message that eating daffs can give you a nasty dose of sickness and diarrhoea.

Trading standards officer Steve Fox, of East Renfrewshire Council, admitted: “This may be a stange request. But we want to flag this up, especially to parents of young children who may be attracted to the daffodil’s vivid yellow colour.”



To most people, the warning will be a contender for the daftest health advice ever given. But 10 Chinese people had to go to hospital in England recently after eating daffodils they mistook for Chinese chives in a supermarket.

Dr Mark Evans, of the South West Health Protection Unit in England, said: “We want to ensure, in particular, that the Chinese community know how easily the daffodil stalk and unopened bud can be confused with Chinese chives.” Dr Evans said daffodil poisoning was “very unpleasant” but most victims recover without treatment.