How to make sure you avoid poison that killed family when they ate leftovers for breakfast

A family were killed after they ate leftovers which had been in their freezer for a year.

Back in 2020 a family of 12 in China settled down for breakfast, with three quarters of them tucking into the leftovers of Suantangzi, a type of thick noodle made with fermented corn flour, which had been kept in the freezer for a year.

Of the family of 12 who were eating together, nine decided to eat the defrosted and prepared leftovers. Within a matter of days, all of them would be dead.

Those who had eaten the food soon started to feel unwell, suffering from nausea and abdominal pain along with bouts of vomiting.

They were taken to hospital but succumbed to their symptoms and it was found that the leftover noodles they'd eaten contained a high amount of something called bongkrekic acid as doctors found it in the food and the digestive systems of the family who'd died.

All nine who ate the leftovers died. (Getty Stock Photo)

Being poisoned in this way will result in symptoms showing within 10 hours, and even relatively small quantities of the acid can be fatal to humans.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to try and avoid this fate for yourself.

Specifically, you should avoid eating foods that derive from fermented corn or coconut products, as that's where the acid can be produced when the temperature is between 22 and 33 degrees Celsius, so if you must eat food with those ingredients, you should either make sure it's fresh or be very careful when defrosting it.

The acid affects a person's internal organs, targeting their liver, kidneys and brain. Other people who suffered from the poisoning saying they experienced limb pain.

Over here in the UK, it's quite unlikely that you'll end up getting it since many of the foods we eat don't contain fermented corn or coconut.

Symptoms present in a matter of hours, and even a small dose can mean death. (Getty Stock Photo)

Most cases of bongkrekic acid poisoning occur in Indonesia or China where these ingredients are more prevalent in the cuisine.

Other ways to try and get away from the poison include adding some acid of your own to the mixture.

The Singapore Food Agency has suggested adding things that are acidic on the pH scale, such as lemon juice or vinegar.

They also said foods like snow fungus or black fungus, which also can contain acid, should be defrosted by putting them in the fridge instead of out in the open to stop harmful bacteria from growing.