Are sprouted potatoes safe to consume?

[faithfulbird20]

I always keep mine next to a bag of onions and that's they've sprouted. But I've just read the could cause stomach issues( and possibly even death if they're really badly sprouted). What's the truth?

I always knock off up to say half inch sprouting and eat with no problems. If you've got 6" growth then maybe not.

My potatoes are so sprouted the eyes are practically googly! As long as the peeled potato isn't green or have black bits in then they are fine. Eyes be damned.

Really?! Eek! I just peel them, never even thought about it!

I just broke the sprouting bits off mine last night to make jacket potatoes I didn’t even give it a though.

I peel thick enough that's there's no green on the potato.

I just chop the sprouts and surrounding area off

yes totally fine, just cut them off. Old potatoes actually make the best roasties, dunno why, maybe they are drier, or the sugars are different?

If its green don't eat it.

Don't store them in the fridge either, this makes them worse apparently.

I ate a green one once and I thought I was dying, massive bloating and pain. I never get indigestion so I think the green was more than my gentle stomach could take.

NHS says safe so long as you remove the sprouting parts and any green bits. If you decide to follow this advice, it is probably safer if you also peel the potatoes. There's conflicting scientific advice about whether sprouted/green potatoes are ever really safe. Not helpful. Some people are more susceptible than others and some medical advisers say you should avoid eating any potato that has sprouted or has green bits if you are pregnant. If they are really old or have gone a bit soft or wrinkly,chuck them. Potatoes sprout really quickly if they are exposed to light as they are in supermarkets. A study showed that half of supermarket potatoes sprout within a week of purchase.

I'm still alive and so are my family so going on my own empirical evidence it's fine.

What do I know though? I have both a loo brush and a washing up bowl in use so I'm obviously not MN certified.

We always ate the green bits as Mum never trimmed them off. It’s only if the potato smells ‘bitter’ that we chucked.

Mine are always sprouting cos I keep them in the cupboard. I just peel them off. Have five for years and never been poorly….

I only found about the 'not eating sprouted potatoes when pregnant' because I was watching call the midwife and they mentioned something about them being linked to birth defects

Never heard of this. Never worried about it. I'm still alive.

Done this all my life, still here.
The green potatoes causing birth defects to was an old wives tale.

@faithfulbird20

I only found about the 'not eating sprouted potatoes when pregnant' because I was watching call the midwife and they mentioned something about them being linked to birth defects

The studies aren’t great. They do rely on taking women’s word for it & don’t seem to have taken other OFC and NT causes into account. There is also the matter that if you didn’t take folic acid and your baby was born with OFC or NT would you admit to it or blame something else?

Oh heck! I always snap the sprouty bits off and eat when they are green! What does it do to you?

They’re fine as long as they’re not green

Totally fine. It’s just trying to make new potatoes.

The green bits contain poisons called solanines (potatoes are in the Solanacae or Nightshade family), so it’s wise to cut out the green and sprouting bits, and peel well before cooking.

@Pascha

I'm still alive and so are my family so going on my own empirical evidence it's fine.

That’s not the point. They are very toxic indeed, but not necessarily for the individual who eats them, but for the next generation.

They should absolutely never be fed to children or any woman young enough to have children. They cause major birth defects

It was hypothesised* that the high (historic) cases of Spina bifida in Ireland were due to eating potatoes, especially green ones.

*by the English trying to rubbish the Irish as my Irish DM would put it.

Wait so if you are pregnant it's dangerous to eat the potato even if you've chopped the sprouts off? Oh fuck I'm 33 weeks and did this the other day

@Gh0stontoast

It was hypothesised* that the high (historic) cases of Spina bifida in Ireland were due to eating potatoes, especially green ones.

*by the English trying to rubbish the Irish as my Irish DM would put it.

In many parts of India potatoes aren’t eaten until there are green bits on them by all educated and uneducated alike. Yet I have never known of birth defects in any of our huge extended family unless they’re also not taking folic acid. So I do think the studies are probably as rubbish as the vitamin a related foods one eg liver ( the amount of vitamin a the nhs based their advice on just isn’t possible to eat in one sitting).