How to avoid poisoning from red beans (2024)

Cooking your own beans is a great way to save money, reduce waste and lower your sodium consumption, but eating improperly cooked beans can lead to serious illness. This is especially true for kidney beans.

Eating raw or undercooked kidney beans can lead to food poisoning, including symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Only a few beans are needed to cause poisoning.

Kidney beans, or red beans, contain a natural protein, Lectin, that is found in many plants, animals and humans. However, at high levels, like that found in raw or undercooked kidney beans, the protein can act as a toxin.

How to properly cook kidney beans and destroy toxins

  • Beans should be soaked in water for at least five hours.
  • Soaking water should be dumped, and the beans should be boiled in fresh water for at least 30 minutes.
  • Do not use a slow cooker. Slow cookers do not get hot enough to destroy the toxins in kidney beans.

The science
Lectins are widely occurring, sugar-binding proteins, but some of them may become toxic at high levels. Lectins are known for their ability to agglutinate many mammalian red blood cell types, alter cell-membrane transport systems, alter cell permeability to proteins, and generally interfere with cellular metabolism, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Among the lectins known to have toxic effects is phytohemagglutinin (PHA), which occurs at high levels in the seeds of legumes. This compound is the legumes seeds’ natural defense against plant pests and pathogens. PHA is destroyed by adequate cooking.

Some variation in toxin stability has been found at different temperatures. However, it has been found that boiling the beans for 10 minutes at 100 degrees C (212 degrees F) completely destroyed the toxin. To be safe, consumers should boil the beans for at least 30 minutes to ensure that the product reaches sufficient temperature, for a sufficient amount of time, to completely destroy the toxin.

Slow cookers should not be used to cook the beans or dishes that contain them. Studies of casseroles cooked in slow cookers revealed that the food only reached internal temperatures of 75 degrees C (167 degrees F) or less.

Illness
Several outbreaks have been associated with beans cooked in slow cookers or in casseroles that had not reached an internal temperature high enough to destroy the Lectin.

Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting and diarrhea within a few hours of eating the raw or undercooked beans. Only a few beans are needed to cause poisoning.

Diagnoses
Diagnosis of this syndrome is difficult because it is not well known in the medical community and other possible causes, such as Bacillus cereus, staphylococcal food poisoning and chemical toxicity, must first be eliminated. However, if beans were a component of the poisoned victim’s meal, testing can be done based on the hemagglutination of red blood cells.

More in-depth information on beans and other foods can be found in the Food and Drug Administration’s Bad Bug Book.

You can also find general information on foodborne illnesses at foodborneillness.com.

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How to avoid poisoning from red beans (2024)

FAQs

How to avoid poisoning from red beans? ›

Boiling beans

How do you prevent bean poisoning? ›

Soak and cook beans thoroughly to destroy the phytohaemagglutinin toxin. Beans should not be cooked at a low temperature, for example in a crock pot or slow cooker, since it may not destroy the toxin. Do not consume raw or inadequately cooked beans.

How do you make red kidney beans safe to eat? ›

Dried kidney beans need soaking and should be cooked carefully because they contain toxins on the outer skin when raw, which are rendered harmless by boiling; canned beans need just draining, rinsing and reheating. They're great in mixed bean salads and stews such as chilli con carne.

How do you remove toxins from beans? ›

Boil beans in fresh water for at least 30 minutes. Note: The toxin is destroyed when boiled at 212 degrees F for 10 minutes, but scientists recommend 30 minutes to be certain the beans reach the proper temperature for the amount of time necessary.

How do you make beans not poisonous? ›

Beans should be soaked in water for at least five hours. Soaking water should be dumped, and the beans should be boiled in fresh water for at least 30 minutes. Do not use a slow cooker. Slow cookers do not get hot enough to destroy the toxins in kidney beans.

How do you ensure raw beans are safe to eat? ›

To reduce the risk of foodborne illness and other food safety concerns, it is important to properly clean and prepare raw green beans before consuming them. This can be achieved by washing the green beans thoroughly with water and removing any dirt.

How do you keep red beans from giving you gas? ›

Rinse canned beans without sauce before eating or using in recipes. (Rinsing also reduces the sodium content of canned beans.) Cook with herbs. Certain herbs may also help break down the gas-producing fermentable fibers.

What happens if you don't soak dried red kidney beans? ›

Soaking beans can help improve the texture of the final product once the beans are cooked and reduce the gas produced when the food is being digested. But it isn't necessary to soak them. To cook beans without soaking them first, follow these steps: Sort and rinse your dried beans.

Should you rinse canned red kidney beans? ›

Do You Need To Rinse Canned Beans? According to The Bean Institute, you can reduce up to 41 percent of the sodium in canned beans by rinsing them. "It's fine to add the bean liquid to many recipes, but if you want to reduce the amount of sodium, it's best to drain and rinse canned beans," the website states.

How do you remove lectins from red beans? ›

Minimizing exposure to lectins in dry red kidney beans

Cook pre-soaked kidney beans by boiling vigorously for at least 10 minutes. Note: Slow cookers and crock pots do not reach sufficiently high temperatures to destroy lectins, and therefore should not be used to cook dry red kidney beans.

What beans are toxic if not soaked? ›

Consumption of common beans (e.g. green beans, French beans) and other beans (e.g. red kidney beans, white kidney beans) without proper processing may cause poisoning due to the naturally present toxins lectins (e.g. phytohaemagglutinins). Acute poisoning symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain.

How can I tolerate beans better? ›

Adding a splash of acidic ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, or tomatoes to your bean dishes can help improve their digestibility. The acid helps break down some of the tough fibers in beans, making them easier for your stomach to handle.

How do you remove chemicals from beans? ›

Washing proved to be more effective than boiling for removing the pesticides from the beans. The typical washing procedure removed about 40, 50, 60 and 70% of acrinathrin, fipronil, kresoxim-methyl and pyridaben, respectively.

Are canned red kidney beans toxic? ›

The toxicity only applies to raw dried or soaked raw kidney beans. There are no toxicity issues when it comes to canned red kidney beans since they are pre-cooked.

How do you reduce the effects of beans? ›

Fortunately, soaking and cooking beans before you eat them, increasing your intake gradually, and using supplements that contain alpha-galactosidase can help minimize gas and bloating.

What causes food poisoning in beans? ›

Consumption of common beans (e.g. green beans, French beans) and other beans (e.g. red kidney beans, white kidney beans) without proper processing may cause poisoning due to the naturally present toxins lectins (e.g. phytohaemagglutinins). Acute poisoning symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain.

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