Islanders warned not to eat fiddleheads from N.B. flood zones

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison is advising Islanders not to eat fiddleheads from areas of New Brunswick affected by flooding they could be contaminated, the N.B. government iswarning.

N.B.'sEmergency Measures Officeissued a written statement Wednesday about the popular spring treat edible fern sproutsforaged from wild areas.

"Flood waters may have contained untreated sewage, fuel, or other industrial contaminants and food (fiddleheads) grown in impacted areas could have been exposed,"the statement said.

"Boiling would only be effective against microbial contamination, not chemical."

• Red Cross volunteer helps out with N.B. flood

The P.E.I. Health Department agrees, and also advises against freezing, canning or preserving New Brunswick fiddleheadsharvested from flooded areas.

Good for P.E.I. foragers

One P.E.I. foragerwho supplies stores and restaurantssays fiddleheads are just starting to appear in local forests this week.

Michael Walsh from Emyvale, P.E.I.,expects demand to be higher this year because of the situation in N.B.

"It'sunfortunate, but it will be nothing but good for the P.E.I. foragers," said Walsh. "Not having to compete with that larger New Brunswick market."

TheN.B.advisoryapplies only to fiddleheads harvested in areas that were flooded.

More P.E.I. news