Belgium's Federal Food Agency (FASFC) has warned people not to eat their Christmas trees after the city of Ghent suggested reusing pine needles in recipes as a way to reduce waste, including eating the conifers. In Scandinavia, they've been doing it for a long time — picking the needles from the branches, briefly immersing them in boiling water, pouring them through a sieve and drying them on a clean cloth. Once the needles are dry, you can make spruce needle butter for use on bread or toast. However, FASFC said Christmas trees are not meant to end up in the food chain, pointing to the fact that most trees are treated with pesticides and other chemicals. What’s more, there's no easy way for consumers to tell if Christmas trees have been treated with flame retardant — and not knowing that could have serious — even fatal — consequences. Ghent's local council has since deleted the post on its Facebook page about eating Christmas trees.
