Christmas trees not meant for human consumption, Food Agency warns
The Federal Food Agency (FASFC) has issued a warning against the practice of consuming Christmas trees, which was recently promoted by Ghent city council, De Standaard reports.
The initiative, inspired by traditions in Scandinavian countries, suggested turning fir trees into food products, such as a spicy butter made from tree needles. The concept has also been explored in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom with published recipe books.
"Christmas trees are not intended to end up in the food chain"
However, the FASFC strongly opposes this idea. "Christmas trees are not intended to end up in the food chain," said spokesperson Liesbeth Van de Voorde. Trees are treated with pesticides to prevent pests like mealybugs, but there are no regulations regarding pesticide residues on ornamental plants.
"Since no standards exist for these plants in relation to human consumption, the FASFC does not carry out any analyses on Christmas trees," Van de Voorde said.
Pesticide risk
The agency criticised an article on a food website cited by Ghent, which downplayed the pesticide risk. Van de Voorde: "The needles of pines from untouched nature are very different from those of trees grown for commercial purposes."
Gérald de Wouters, of the Greencap Christmas tree nursery, told the newspaper: “We use pesticides, but as little as possible. The trees pose no more risk than lettuce from the supermarket.” He said any potential health risk would come from post-purchase sprays, such as artificial snow or flame-retardant treatments.
While Ghent's proposal has been met with scepticism, there are alternative ways to repurpose Christmas trees. For example, Hasselt plans to donate its public Christmas tree, along with 20 others, to the Pairi Daiza animal park. These trees will be used as food for the park's elk, a practice the city views as a better use than disposal.
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