Dangers of eating Garri

DANGERS OF CONSUMING GARRI/ CASSAVA FLAKES/TAPIOCA

                                 

To all the Nigerians who know what I’m talking about when I say “ Garri” nod your head. Yes it is a popular meal consumed by Millions of Africans across the world. The process of making garri includes the main ingredient Cassava tubers.  Traditional

processing includes six steps to achieving the final product of garri: peeling, washing, grating, drying, sifting, and frying. Cassava tubers are peeled, washed and grated or crushed to produce a mash. The mash is placed in a porous bag and allowed to ferment for one or two days, while weights are placed on the bag to press the water out. It is then sieved (or sifted) and roasted by heating in a bowl. The resulting dry granular garri can be stored for long periods. It may be pounded or grounded to make a fine flour.

WARNING.

I pulled up this article from the National Center for BIOTECHNOLOGY Health concerns about Garri .This article warns that if Garri is not processed appropriately, there are  8 bacteria genera (Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, Clostridium, Salmonella Klebsiella and Coliforms groups) genera and six fungi genera (Aspergillus, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Botrytls, Fusarium and Cladosporium) could be formed and  detected. 

WARNING

Hydrogen Cyanide (HCN) In Garri

HCN is obtainable from fruits that have a pit, such as cherries, apricots, apples, and bitter almonds, from which almond oil and flavoring are made. Many of these pits contain small amounts of cyanohydrins such as mandelonitrile and amygdalin, which slowly release hydrogen cyanide.^[17][18] One hundred grams of crushed apple seeds can yield about 70 mg of HCN.^[19] Some millipedes release hydrogen cyanide as a defense mechanism,^[20] as do certain insects, such as some burnet moths. Hydrogen cyanide is contained in the exhaust of vehicles, in tobacco and wood smoke, and in smoke from burning nitrogen-containing plastics. So-called "bitter" roots of the cassava plant may contain up to 1 gram of HCN per kilogram

Here is another article that talks about cyanide in Garri Cyanide in garri . The test result shows that exposure to cyanide following consumption of garri depends on absorption. The  amount of cyanide absorbed into the plasma from a single meal is small and unlikely to cause acute intoxication. The long transit time of absorbed cyanide in the plasma suggests that frequent intake of garri could cause cyanide to accumulate in the plasma”.

All of these information is not to scare you, but to inform you about the food you eat. I have reduced the portion of garri I consume as it is hard to cut off from my diet. You can go cold turkey or reduce the amount of garri you consume daily. A lot of research is still being conducted about GARRI. 

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