Quebec women in Thailand poisoned by Fugu?

June 19, 2012 14d Comments

 Puffer

Officials now believe the sisters from Pohénégamook, Quebec, who were vacationing in Thailand, may have died from Fugu poisoning.

 

A Thai Doctor who examined the girls says their death shows signs of severe poisoning; consistent with eating a (potentially) deadly Puffer fish meal.

 

What is Fugu?

fugu

 

My condolences to the entire Belanger family and friends of Noemi and Audrey.

 

Here’s an excerpt on Fugu, taken from the book: Weird Facts about Fishing:

 

Fish Food with a Kick!
“Another weird fact about fish and fishing in
society today is some of the strange fish dishes
used as table fare across North America. One
such odd fish meal is fugu, a fish eaten as a delicacy
in Japan and other parts of Asia. The fugu is
a blowfish with extremely deadly poison within
its organs, yet many around the world eat it as an
expensive meal. In Japan, there is an expression
that goes “I want to eat fugu but I don’t want to
die.” This expression has come about as the result
of some instantaneous deaths from meal-goers
who have eaten improperly prepared fugu.
In Japan, only very skilled and licensed chefs are
even allowed to prepare fugu for their clients as
there are strict regulations now in place on the
use of this deadly blowfish as table fare.
Not only is this dangerous fish meal high profile
because of its deadly after effects, the cost per
serving is outrageously high. It may cost as much
as $200 or more per person and sometimes more,
depending on the chef.

 

According to people in the blowfish community,

the most poisonous fugu of all, known as torafugu,

is also the most delicious and the most expensive of

the fugu dishes. This deadly dish, as I discovered, is

actually now sold online and in some grocery stores
in Japan. Winter is evidently the best season to
eat this fish as there seems to be less risk of dying
at this time.“

14 thoughts on “Quebec women in Thailand poisoned by Fugu?”

    1. That’s funny Iggy, the very next line in the book was “I’ll stick to trout and walleye thank you very much”

      Outdoorsguy

  2. Thanks for fixing that up Jeff
    Off to fish Walleye and big Pike and maybe a day of Speckles in a little more than two weeks. One of the guys going just watched a show on the place on Fishing Canada, said it looks great, and no poison fish 🙂
    This guy offers a one day fly in, he brings you into a lake early in the morning and flies you back out that night, into a lake that no one else has access to and there are no roads to it, the claim is unbelievable Walleye fishing, sounds like a blast but it’s $100.00 each. He has already flown a boat and motor and gas in, only problem is, what if a storm comes in, a float plane can’t come in after dark, but I think I’ll do it anyway, with my son

    1. Iggy, that still sounds like a great deal and I wouldn’t worry about getting stranded there. Besides, think about it, you wouldn’t have to go into work for a few days and then there’s all that peace and quiet…man, I’d be hoping to get stranded. But you say there’s no camp on this fly-in lake, though?

      I’m going try to look up that Fish’n Canada episode now.

      Outdoorsguy

  3. What I don’t get, is the police know where they ate, apparently, but did not say what they ate. I have lived in Thailand for years and have never seen this puffer fish offered on a menu. Were they the kind of kids that loved exotic foods and would try this? And if the kids were poisoned by the restaurant, why no arrests for serving poorly prepared puffer fish? And did these girls have that kind of money to order something like that, if indeed it was offered on a menu. Too many scales missing in all of this fish story!!!!

    1. pete, you’re absolutely right, there are a lot of unanswered questions. I can only assume officials have done their ‘due diligence’ with this claim, and that there is some evidence to show the girl’s did, in fact, consume a meal of Fugu prior to their death.

      Man, It would seem that travelling in a strange country these days brings with it a whole host of hazards to be concerned with. I hope they finally get to the bottom of this, as I’m sure the family still has a lot of questions.

      Outdoorsguy

  4. Apparently, this kind of fish has been forbidden to be serve in Thailand since 2000 and it cost around $450. to eat fugu! So, it’s probably something else as those 2 who died n 2009.

    1. LL, it seems you may be onto something!

      What a bloody shame if that’s the cause…how can this happen? And we thought DDT use was bad back in the 70’s because it made peregrine falcon egg shells brittle.

      This poisoning is a whole other level!

      Thanks for the info btw.

      Outdoorsguy

  6. Jeff, if you find it on Fishing Canada, let me know where, I’d love to watch it, they were fishing on a lake called
    Caughlin Lake, which is in his territory, and staying at his lodge

  7. The restaurant preparation of fugu is strictly controlled by law in Japan and several other countries, and only chefs who have qualified through rigorous training are allowed to deal with the fish.

  8. fugu restaurant Fugu is a dense, white fish with a very delicate and arguably ordinary taste. Japanese like the texture and elasticity of the meat. Many Westerners complain that fugu is overrated. With all the fuss and danger associated with it, the bottom line is that fugu doesn’t taste all that great. Noel Vietmeyer wrote in National Geographic, “The meat had no fiber and was almost like gelatin. It is very light in taste. More like chicken than fish, with a slight hint that it is a seafood.” Often the various sauces and seasoning have more taste than the fugu.

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