Stockholm and Belgium ‘cross swords’ but not forks over whether firs can be eaten
As a decoction, beer or syrup, wild fir needles, when collected under the right conditions and at the right time in the forest, can be used in many recipes, Swedish authorities assured today, after Belgium warned that “Christmas firs are not eaten”.
Belgium’s federal food safety authority (Afsca) has “brought order” to the municipality of Ghent, which suggested that those with ecological sensitivities should eat their Christmas tree to cut down on “waste”. The municipality brought as an example the Scandinavians who are used, as he mentioned, to dry the needles and make a kind of butter with them.
Stockholm agrees with the view of the Belgian agency, but clarified that under certain conditions fir needles are edible.
“We do not have any guidelines regarding the consumption of Christmas trees, because they are not considered edible species. Chemical products, not suitable for consumption, may have been used on these trees (…) From this point of view, we share the point of view of the Belgian authorities: we do not know if the consumption of the Christmas tree is harmless” said Anneli Wiedenfalk, toxicologist at the Swedish Security Service of food.
Belgium’s Afsca noted yesterday that it is difficult for people to know whether fire retardants have been used on the trees, which could have fatal consequences for anyone who eats them.
Wiedenfalk noted, however, that in Sweden some people are used to collecting the tender needles and using them in their kitchen, in small quantities. “This is usually done around May or June when they are still young and tender and the tree probably hasn’t had any chemicals used,” he said. They are then used for decoctions, as a seasoning or to flavor alcohol, as in schnapps. There are also fir beers, which the Vikings brewed a millennium ago, according to Smalandsgran, a family business that specializes in selling Christmas trees. “Even soldiers in the time of Charles XII (1697-1718) knew that sprouts, which are rich in vitamin C and minerals, were good for health,” she writes on her website.
Source: Skai
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