Don't eat your Christmas tree, Belgium's food agency warns
Belgium's food agency has warned people not to eat their Christmas trees after the city of Ghent suggested reusing pine needles in recipes as a way to reduce waste.
The country's Federal Food Agency (FASFC) issued the unusual seasonal health warning on Tuesday after Ghent's local council launched a campaign last week urging people to recycle their Christmas trees in different ways - including eating the conifers.
The council suggested making flavoured butter and soup from the pine needles, which it said was inspired by traditional Scandinavian recipes.
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"In Scandinavia, they have been doing it for a long time: picking the needles from the branches, briefly immersing them in boiling water, pouring them through a sieve and drying them on a clean cloth," the council said in a post on its website.
"Once the needles are dry, you can make delicious spruce needle butter with them for bread or toast".
'Not all Christmas trees are edible'
In response, the FASFC said Christmas trees "are not meant to end up in the food chain" — pointing to the fact that most trees are treated with pesticides and other chemicals.
"What’s more, there is no easy way for consumers to tell if Christmas trees have been treated with flame retardant — and not knowing that could have serious, even fatal consequences," the agency said in a statement.
"There is no way to ensure that eating Christmas trees is safe - either for people or animals".
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Ghent's local council has since deleted a post on its Facebook page about eating Christmas trees and changed a heading on its website entry from "Eat your Christmas tree" to "Scandinavians eat their Christmas trees".
The council has also added a note on its website stating that "not all Christmas trees are edible" and warning people not to confuse them with yew trees, which are poisonous.
