Belgium’s Federal Food Agency on Tuesday warned people to not eat their Christmas trees after a city council suggested recipes to reuse conifers following the holiday season.
The agency was forced to issue the bizarre warning after the council in Ghent City launched a campaign last Thursday encouraging people to recycle their Christmas trees to reduce waste.
It included a suggestion of making flavoured butter and soup from the pine needles, taking inspiration from traditional Scandinavian recipes.
“Your Christmas tree is edible as long as it is not yew, and your tree has not been treated with a fire-resistant spray,” Ghent Climate City wrote in a social media post, urging people to upcycle the trees.
The federal agency, however, responded with a resounding “no” when asked if the trees would be safe for consumption.
“Christmas trees are not destined to enter the food chain,” it said in a statement. “There is no way to ensure that eating Christmas trees is safe – either for people or animals.”
It explained that most ornamental trees sold during Christmas are heavily treated with pesticides and other chemicals to protect them from pests and keep them fresh for a longer time, making them unsafe for consumption.
Spokesperson Hélène Bonte said: "To avoid issues with emerging woolly aphids, Christmas trees are often treated intensively.”
She was referring to small sap-sucking insects that produce a filamentous waxy white covering which resembles cotton or wool.
"For this reason alone, the FASFC cannot agree with such initiatives," she added, referring to the agency.
The Ghent council’s website later changed the headline from “Eat your Christmas tree” to “Scandinavians eat their Christmas trees”.
It also added a note that “not all Christmas trees are edible” and warned that one should not confuse them with yew, which is poisonous.
“Spruce and pine trees that have been treated with, for example, a fire-resistant spray and pesticides are also not edible,” it said.
