A mum was rushed to hospital after eating 'poisonous' courgettes she had grown herself from seedlings.
The 38-year-old carer from Southend, Essex, claims the homegrown vegetables left her in agony after she ate them for the first time.
Danielle Baxter said she became sick with vomiting and diarrhoea within hours of eating the roast vegetables.
Sales of the seeds she used have now been suspended amid reports several families fell ill after eating the courgettes grown in their gardens.
She had reportedly planted Unwins seeds, and its parent company Westland this week has suspended sale of its courgette packets following complaints of sickness, reports The Sun.
Danielle said: “I had a high temperature and I was vomiting and had diarrhoea.
"I phoned 111 after seeing online that courgettes can produce poison.
“The paramedic told me to get checked out at A&E straight away.
"I didn’t start feeling better until five days later.”
Courgettes, also called zucchini, can produce cucurbitacins — a chemical that causes nausea and stomach problems if it occurs in abnormally high volumes in the popular vegetable.
Five years ago an elderly German died in a case linked to courgettes he had used in a stew.
Danielle said she had no idea courgettes could pose a risk.
She said she loved gardening, but didn't think she would grow those particular vegetables again following her ordeal,
Guy Barter of the Royal Horticultural Society told The Sun that families growing their own courgettes could protect themselves by binning the vege if it tasted bitter.
A spokesperson for Westland said: "This is an extremely rare occurrence associated with the overproduction of a natural chemical in courgettes that gives the fruit its bitter taste.
"This can be caused by certain growing conditions rather than by the seed itself, however as a precaution we have temporarily suspended shipments of the product in line with other seed suppliers and growers in the industry while we investigate further."
