Thai Street Market Found Selling Grilled Highly Toxic Octopus With Venom That Can Kill 26 Humans

Venomous octopus sold at Pathum Thani market

Chomping down on street food might land you in a pickle with a dose of food poisoning. But your food actually being poison? Probably the last thing on your mind while stuffing skewer meats into your mouth.

Unfortunately in Pathum Thani, a street market vendor was found selling a highly venomous octopus as part of their grilled seafood.

Blue-ringed octopus on the grill

Thankfully, authorities were alerted as soon as a buyer realised what she’d gotten from the store: the highly toxic blue-ringed octopus.

Image credit: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง

Thailand’s Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) released a statement to warn people to look out for this little creature the on their next food run. Netizens suspect that the vendor must have mistakenly purchased it to sell, though this has not been confirmed.

The octopus can be identified by its signature spots with clear blue rings. And don’t be fooled by the size of this little guy. Even though it’s no bigger than your fist, the venom of one blue-ringed octopus is potent enough to kill 26 adults within minutes.

In the water, their bites are said to be painless enough for people not to have realised they’ve been stung. Well, until the paralysis and breathing problems kick in. Oh, and if that wasn’t terrifying enough, no blue-ringed octopus antivenom is known to exist. Yeesh.

Imaged credit: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง

Grilling cannot kill the toxins

In their post, the DMCR also stated that the octopus’ toxins cannot be killed off via grilling, as its venom is able to withstand temperatures of up to 200 degrees celsius.

This means that there is not way to actually plop it on the grill and “cook” the poison away, unless you’re planning on having some seriously charred seafood for lunch.

Imaged credit: กรมทรัพยากรทางทะเลและชายฝั่ง

They also warned that merely touching the octopus can cause humans to lose consciousness, and that eating it would be fatal.

Luckily, no reports have come in about anyone getting hurt from purchasing the blue-ringed octopus skewers from the market in Pathum Thani.

However, if you do spot this at a local market and know of anyone in need of immediate medical attention, CPR must be administered at once. It is possible for victims to wake up after 24 hours, though chances are slim due to oxygen deprivation and the throat closing up due to anaphylaxis.

People can also reach out to the green call line at 1310 for help.