Man dies in South Korea after eating poisonous toad

A man in South Korea has died after consuming a dish which allegedly contained poisonous toads, police said on Friday (21 April).

Two other men who had eaten the meal also suffered from severe food poisoning, but their condition was not life-threatening, police added.

The incident took place in Daejeon in early March and forensic analysis of the leftover food revealed that the dish contained bufotenine – a component present in toad poison.

According to reports, the trio visited a restaurant in Daejeon, 164km south of capital Seoul on 9 March, which was run by the wife of one of the two survivors.

Police said that the restaurant owner's husband had caught the bullfrogs at a reservoir two days before the incident. It is suspected that he may have caught toads and mistaken them for bullfrogs.

The poisonous bufotenine is reportedly found on the skin on the back of a toad and a high amount of the substance if consumed by humans can lead to death.

The deceased had started vomiting soon after finishing dinner and his two colleagues had similar symptoms. They were rushed to a nearly hospital, but the victim's vomiting became severe, Yonhap news agency reported. The man was pronounced dead early on 10 March.

Bullfrogs are a delicacy in several parts of the world like Namibia and South Korea. The animals are relished despite risks from the poison they contain. While countries like France stick to consuming only frog legs, people in Namibia and some in South Korea eat the entire body. Bullfrog poison is known to cause kidney failure.