The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) in Thailand has warned people not to eat grilled blue-ring octopus as its venom is lethal.
According to Bangkok Post, a woman bought the grilled octopus at the street market in Pathum Thani province on Sunday night ( Nov 29). She alerted the department was not sure if it was the poisonous type.
The DMCR official Facebook page then took it to social media to say that they had received a report from Jantra Phumphuang who saw the poisonous octopus was sold at the market and urged public to watch what they eat.
The blue-ringed octopus is sometimes found in seafood markets and restaurants and vendors aren’t aware it is poisonous.
The blue ring octopus’s venom is very lethal and it can tolerate heat more than 200 deg C, so grilling the octopus won’t destroy the toxins and there is no antidote.
While the octopus is small, about the size of a golf ball, its venom contains the powerful neurotoxin tetrodotoxin which blocks sodium channels, causing motor paralysis and respiratory arrests within minutes of exposure.
Info via Bangkok post | Wikipedia