Teng Renming, Deputy Director of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene at the Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, stated that sugarcane turns red only when it becomes moldy. The moldy sugarcane contains *Arthrinium* fungi, which produce 3-nitropropionic acid, a highly toxic substance. Ingesting it can lead to propionic acid poisoning, with severe consequences.
Does red sugarcane really contain the highly toxic substance 3-nitropropionic acid? Investigators purchased red sugarcane from the market and sent it to the Beijing University of Agriculture for a specialized toxicological analysis. After professional sampling and analysis, Ding Ke, Associate Professor at the College of Food Science and Engineering, Beijing University of Agriculture, said: "The samples do contain 3-nitropropionic acid. In red, moldy sugarcane, the average content of 3-nitropropionic acid is at a level of 3.5 micrograms per kilogram of sugarcane."
■Reminder: Try not to buy sugarcane that is dark brown or has a mealy texture.
Associate Professor Ding stated that according to data from relevant sources, the dose level of 3-nitropropionic acid that causes human poisoning is 12.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. This means that an adult would need to consume over 200,000 kilograms of the sample sugarcane to possibly be poisoned. In response, some experts noted that the air is dry in winter, so the degree of mold in the tested sugarcane samples was very mild, with only localized mold.
Deputy Director Teng Renming stated that after ingesting moldy sugarcane, the incubation period is very short, with symptoms usually appearing within a few hours. In mild cases, it can cause nausea and vomiting, while in severe cases, it can lead to neurological symptoms such as convulsions. Even if some people recover, some forms of neurological paralysis can be difficult to reverse. "Consumers should try not to buy sugarcane that is red, dark brown, or has a mealy texture when selecting it."