Did seven family members die from commercially frozen food that was stored for nearly a year? No, that's not true: They died from consuming frozen homemade fermented corn noodles, which contained a toxin called bongkrekic acid.
The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here) published on September 21, 2024. It opened, as translated from Korean to English by Lead Stories staff:
Recently, there was an incident where a family overseas ate frozen food that had been stored for about a year, and all seven members of the family died.
Frozen seafood should not be stored for more than three months. Processed meats like bacon and sausages should not be stored for more than two months. Beef should not be stored for more than four months. Chicken cannot be stored in the freezer for more than 12 months. Any type of bread should not be frozen for more than six months. Unopened frozen dumplings can be stored for up to nine months.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Sep 25 14:06:20 2024 UTC)
According to a China Daily article (archived here) published on October 19, 2020, nine older family members out of a 12-member family at a gathering in Jixi City, China, died after consuming homemade corn noodles, or "Suantangzi," which had been frozen for nearly a year.
Chinese state-run Global Times (archived here) reported that a family of twelve gathered for breakfast on October 5, 2020, when nine elders consumed the noodles while the three younger family members refused to eat the noodles due to the taste. The article also stated seven deaths were initially reported on October 10, 2020, by local authorities, and the other two family members who also consumed the noodles died a few days shortly after.
The National Health Commission in China released a public health announcement advising the public to avoid cooking or consuming food made out of fermented rice and flour after the nine family members died, according to China Daily (archived here). The article mentioned the cause of death was a high concentration of bongkrekic acid that was found in the homemade noodles as well as the gastric fluid of the family members who died. According to the China CDC Weekly (archived here), there were 330mg/kg of bongkerkic acid in the homemade corn noodles the nine individuals consumed and 3mg/L of bongkerkic acid in the individuals' biological samples, which is reportedly 22-23 times the lethal dose in humans.
Bongkrekic acid (archived here) is produced by the bacterium Burkholderia gladioli pathovar cocovenans (B. cocovenenans) during fermentation, and it is a respiratory mitochondrial toxin (archived here) that is odorless and tasteless and cannot be destroyed by cooking or boiling. Most cases of bongkrekic acid poisoning were reported in China, Indonesia, and Mozambique after consuming locally produced fermented noodles, corn flour, and beer. There is currently no antidote for bongkrekic acid poisoning.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (archived here), food kept at zero degrees Fahrenheit will always be safe as this inactivates any microbes present in the food. However, the USDA noted that these microbes can become active once the food is thawed and that one must handle thawed food as one would with perishable food.
Since freezing food keeps food safe indefinitely, the recommended storage times the USDA indicated were solely for quality. For the best-frozen seafood quality, USDA (archived here) recommended freezing cooked fish for up to three months, raw fish for up to eight months, and shellfish for up to twelve months, and noted the flavor and texture may decrease with lengthy storage time. For the best quality processed meats like bacon and sausage, the USDA recommends freezing for up to two months.
The USDA also stated beef (archived here) can be frozen for up to four months, while steaks and roasts can be frozen for up to 12 months. While cooked poultry like chicken is recommended to be frozen for up to four months, uncooked whole poultry can be stored for up to twelve months. Cooked dumplings (archived here) should be stored in the freezer for up to four weeks, while raw dumplings can be stored for up to three months.
