Eat your Christmas tree? Yes, in northern countries people use the needles for a very special herb butter. In the UK and Netherlands books with recipes were published in recent years. The Belgian city of Ghent referred to these, as an alternative to burning the tree after the Christmas period. But the Belgian Food authority doesn’t think it is safe. The reason: pesticides. “There ere are no rules on the pesticides used in relation to possible human consumption.”
Last month we advised you to look for a pesticide-free Christmas tree. A tree that came from a happy habitat free of toxic chemicals. A tree that was not more expensive than any ordinary tree. And jokingly we said, “Of course, we don’t eat trees”. Well, jokes on us because people do eat parts of Christmas trees.
“Eat your Christmas tree,” said the Ghent (Belgium) city council. That way, Christmas trees end up as waste. This might sound like a new and innovative idea. However, Scandinavian countries have a tradition of processing those needles into spicy butter. In the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, many recipe books have been published in recent years.
The Belgian Federal Food Agency did not agree with the Ghent city council. They insisted on the fact that Christmas trees are treated with pesticides. There are no standards for residues on ornamental plants such as Christmas trees. The agency does not carry out analyses on Christmas trees.
There is a difference between eating an untouched Nordic forest tree and eating one that comes from a plantation and has been handled with toxic pesticides. So, don’t eat your Christmas trees unless your tree comes from a happy pesticide-free place.
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