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?
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.“