The Editor, Sir:

There is no comparison between the risks associated with eating ackee to the unending risks of a diet high in cassava. Ackee is seasonal and is not consumed on the same level that flour is.

When I was a little girl, I heard that if people ate ackee that was forced open they could possibly die from ackee poisoning. The good news is that as soon as the fruit of the ackee matures the hypoglycen migrates to the seed to prepare it's defence system for war against insects that might inhibit its ability to produce a new ackee tree. What a wonderful world we have.

Health hazards

Research has shown that the cyanide from the cassava can seep into the water table and the atmosphere, and even create health hazards to the people handling the tubers.

Knowledge is power. I invite readers to surf the Internet and check: health risks related to cassava, diseases related to high ingestion of cassava, toxic substances and anti-nutritional factors, cyanogenic glycosides in cassava and bamboo shoots, a human health risk.

Jamaicans currently consume cassava on a very limited scale, a scale that is ok. They also eat bammy with fish, which happens to be the best combination. I love my cassava dumpling occasionally.

I am, etc.,

VERNA GORDON BINNS

theashton@cwjamaica.com

Luana, St Elizabeth

Via Go-Jamaica