A city in Belgium suggested its residents eat their Christmas tree, but health officials warned it could be dangerous.

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 country’s food agency warned against using evergreens in food after the city of Ghent suggested an unusual form of recycling: spruce needle butter.

Now that the festive season and Epiphany has ended, it's time to put the tree away. And when it's not artificial, you don't want to throw it away anywhere. Pick-ups are planned, but Ghent has come up with another idea: to eat it.

Yes, the Belgian government was recently forced to issue an odd PSA warning its citizens not to eat their old Christmas trees. “Christmas trees are not intended to end up in the food chain,” Hélène Bonte,

In a surprising twist to holiday traditions, Belgians are encouraged to eat their Christmas trees to combat waste. However, the Federal Food Agency quickly intervened, warning against this unusual practice due to safety concerns over pesticides and chemicals used in tree cultivation.

Christmas trees are not meant to end up in the food chain at all,' said one expert who warned eating them could leave you needing a doctor - or maybe a fate even worse