Belgium's food safety agency issued a warning to residents to not turn their Christmas trees into food after a city's recycling recommendations included using the needles in recipes.

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.

Belgium's food agency has had to issue a health warning after a local council encouraged people to reduce waste by cooking with their Christmas trees.

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 supposed to end up on your dinner table. Well, if you were thinking otherwise, Belgium’s food agency has issued a warning asking people not to eat conifers

The Belgian Federal Food Agency issued the odd warning after Ghent's local authorities suggested people could reuse pine needles in recipes to avoid waste. View on euronews

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.

A day after Belgium warned against eating Christmas trees, Swedish officials said that the needles can be safely used to make butter and other products -- as long as the trees are young and wild.

The Belgium food agency issues a warning against consuming Christmas trees after Ghent's council suggested reusing pine needles in recipes. Read more about the safety concerns around this eco-friendly initiative.

Asked what they thought of the idea, the reply from Belgium's federal agency for food chain security, AFSCA, was a resounding "No". "Christmas trees are not destined to enter the food chain," it said in a statement.

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.