Close to a year after Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton prescribed cassava as an antidote to Jamaica's farm crisis, Northern Caribbean University (NCU) researchers have found that some local cassava food products may be unsafe when eaten for extended periods.

Among the possible long-term effects of overconsumption are blindness and deafness, the researchers suggest.

Data released by graduate student Charles Kofi Koomson and his supervisor, Professor Mark Harris, from the College of Natural and Applied Sciences at NCU, show that several samples of bammy and undried cassava flour taken from four parishes in Jamaica contained levels of cyanide, which produced toxins significantly higher than the allowable intake per person.

Cyanide is a toxic substance which blocks oxidation in cells, thereby cutting off energy for vital nerve functions.

Last year, the agriculture minister launched a campaign to revive cassava production, announcing that the tuber was one answer to the withering output of Jamaica's farm sector. Cassava was pushed as an alternative to imported rice and wheat as commodities prices on the world and local market skyrocketed. Tufton's claim that cassava was a good source of protein was also rejected by researchers.

Breadfruit alternative

The NCU researchers have recommended that consumers choose an alternative crop, highlighting breadfruit as a better source.

The study revealed that bammies sampled from parishes of St Thomas, Clarendon, Manchester and St James exhibited cyanide levels at least twice the allowable intake of the dry weight of cassava.

The NCU research also noted that chronic consumption of poorly processed cassava products has been linked to several health disorders, particularly among individuals with low-protein intake. Continual exposure to low-level cyanide in cassava products has been linked to cassavism characterised by blindness, deafness, spinal injuries and damage to the nervous system among older people in West Africa.