Food Borne Illness - improperly cooked fiddlehead ferns cause illness in Canada (warning)

Eating improperly prepared fiddlehead ferns has resulted in 7 cases of food poisoning reported to health authorities in Toronto since the beginning of May. The symptoms typically last for less than a day.

Travellers who prepare their own food and wish to try fiddlehead ferns (also known as ostrich ferns) should wash them several times in cold water and remove as much of the papery, brown husk as possible. Then, they should be steamed for 10 to 12 minutes, or boiled for 15 minutes.