Venomous octopus found in Mookata set
Whilst blue-ringed octopuses are extremely venomous they are sometimes used as BBQ ingredients.
For example, one Thai street market vendor once sold them on a stick, and one person landed in the hospital. Since then, Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) has warned the public to look out for these cephalopods.
Recently, a netizen spotted one of these venomous sea creatures in their Mookata set, whilst enjoying their meal at Bar B Q Resort Restaurant in Bangkok.
Let’s explore how this fiasco happened in more detail.
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Venomous octopus prompts restaurant’s apology and warning
The netizen ordered a mookata set that was worth ฿99 (~USD3). Amongst the many items, she was surprised to find a blue-ringed octopus, and posted her findings on the Buffet Lovers Facebook group.
Image credit: Sanook
Bar B Q Resort Restaurant responded with apologies for the error on their Facebook Page.
Screenshot: Bar B Q Resort บาร์บีคิวรีสอร์ท บุฟเฟต์ ปิ้งย่าง หมูกระทะ
Translation:
We truly apologise for any inconvenience and highly recommend that our customers who have bought fresh octopus and squid around 17 May 2021 to 19 May 2021 to look out for blue-ringed octopus in our products….
…If you’ve found any of these in your groceries, we are willing to compensate you for your time and expenses. You can return these to us. Now, we have cancelled our orders from our seafood supplier along with our octopus menu.
They have also warned customers who have bought fresh octopus and squid from them between 17 May 2021 to 19 May 2021 to look out for these venomous sea critters.
Affected patrons will be able to get a refund, and it’s important to note that the restaurant will cease their current octopus menu indefinitely.
How to spot a blue-ringed octopus
To spot a blue-ringed octopus, lookout for their grey bodies covered in blue rings. The ones with several rings are potentially very dangerous.
It’s also not possible to remove their toxicity with high heat, according to Bar B Q Resort Restaurant’s post.
Enjoy your meals but take necessary precautions
Taking the time to carefully check what you’re eating is as important as enjoying your meal.
In the worst case scenario, you could ingest a highly venomous sea creature. Luckily, the netizen in this case spotted the octopus in time and had it reported.
Fortunately, there have been no further reports of similar incidents from the restaurant and the BBQ joint is willing to take responsibility for this matter by cancelling the menu.
But if you do happen to find a blue-ringed octopus, do reach out to the Department of Forestry for animal rescue at 1310.
Cover images adapted from: Sanook (Left), Bar B Q Resort (Right)
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