Today's entry is a little piece of hysteria that is being circulated on Twitter and may have been in the media, although I have, as yet, been unable to pin down precisely where.
Most of the scary stuff you will see about ragwort has been made up.
As I regularly blog there are a whole host of hoaxes and misunderstandings about ragwort and this tweet from Twitter exemplifies the latest manifestation of an old one.
This is someone who seems to be trying to interest the BBC in repeating the hoax.
Ragwort does not pose a risk of an size at all to meat. The horse meat scandal is one thing but all the science indicates that there is no risk to humans from ragwort. Firstly grazing animals have evolved to avoid eating poisons, secondly the possibility of the meat being a problem has been looked at by experts and it has found not to be a risk. Basically, the stuff goes out of an animal's system very quickly, and any that remains is bound up
For the technical details see this briefing on ragwort and meat
Most of the scary stuff you will see about ragwort has been made up.
As I regularly blog there are a whole host of hoaxes and misunderstandings about ragwort and this tweet from Twitter exemplifies the latest manifestation of an old one.
@BBCBreaking Outrageous, BBC unaware#horsemeat health risks. Ragwort, bute, Trichinella worm. Could have been eating#horsemeat for years!
This is someone who seems to be trying to interest the BBC in repeating the hoax.
Ragwort does not pose a risk of an size at all to meat. The horse meat scandal is one thing but all the science indicates that there is no risk to humans from ragwort. Firstly grazing animals have evolved to avoid eating poisons, secondly the possibility of the meat being a problem has been looked at by experts and it has found not to be a risk. Basically, the stuff goes out of an animal's system very quickly, and any that remains is bound up
For the technical details see this briefing on ragwort and meat
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