Do NOT eat Autumn Monkshood

Tasty in Soup? In April 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned consumers not to consume a poisonous flowering perennial plant commonly called Autumn Monkshood. The warning was issued because several of the plants distributed by Valleybrook Gardens, Ltd., a Canadian nursery located in British Columbia, had been mislabeled suggesting that they were edible….

The label should have read, “All parts of this plant are toxic,” but an employee changed it to, “All parts of this plant are TASTY in soup.” According to Michael Benoit, the nursery’s general manager, “The employee was making a practical joke and thought it would be caught by a horticulturist.”

The FDA warned: “All parts of this plant are poisonous! Cooking will NOT detoxify the toxic compounds.” In its warning the Agency listed the symptoms of being poisoned by the plant including cardiovascular complications: “DEATH could occur due to ventricular arrhythmias (irregular heart beat) or direct paralysis of the heart.”

The FDA reported that Valleybrook Gardens called all of its accounts, including nurseries in British Columbia, Canada, and Washington State and Idaho in the U.S., and notified them of the situation and asked them to pull the incorrect labels. Thankfully, when the FDA issued the report on April 26, 2001, there were no known illnesses or injuries. *

The Autumn Monkshood plants are not the ONLY harmful things to be mislabeled.

The Bible warns us of the deceitfulness of SIN (Hebrews 3:13). Although it is often “labeled” as something good and enjoyable, it is DEADLY (Romans 6:23). The bad news is that ALL of us have succumbed to sin’s temptation (Romans 3:23) and are in danger of suffering its consequences.

But God has a remedy….

Because of His GREAT love for us, He sent His Son to die for our sins (John 3:16). WHEN we believe in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Him (Acts 2:38), THEN He will cleanse us from sin. And, as we walk in the light of His Word, He will continue to cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:7).

Although mislabeled, sin CAN be “tasty” (pleasurable), but ONLY for a season (Hebrews 11:25). In the end, it is COSTLY and DEADLY!

Won’t YOU accept God’s remedy?

 — David A. Sargent, Minister

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