True story: I was talking to my grandmother about her childhood once, and she mentioned that she'd had a very young sister who died from eating a bad potato. I thought she was joking because she mentioned that it was green and that's what made her sick, so it's crazy to read this now.

That green potato is no good for you is pretty common knowledge here in Estonia, and I've known it since I was a kid. However, when I lived in Scotland, I often encountered green potatoes even in upmarket deli shops, and the shopkeepers just raised an eyebrow when I asked them about it..
It's good of you to highlight this issue, Elise!

I have faced many instances of having green potato. Though I never knew why that part comes but I used to chop it off still (just becoz it looked dirty). Thanks for sharing this information. Now I can tell others also about it.

Ew!!! Thanks for the tip. I always cut out the green parts anyway, but now I know why I should!

I never realized that people didn't know potatoes could be poisonous. It was something that I, too, learned from my mother when she taught me about cooking. thanks for putting this information out to keep people safe. also, I've always heard that tomato leaves are poisonous too.

Thanks for the advice. I had no idea the green was toxic on a potato. How toxic is it? Would it just make you sick? Could it do permanent harm? I'm guessing the answer is that it depends on how much you eat, but I am curious.

I'd never heard anything like this before thank you for drawing attention to it!!!

I had read this about green potatoes, before, and whenever I have told anyone, they've acted like I'm nuts! I'll have to send a link to all the doubters!

Oh, and I've noticed a huge amount of green potatoes, too, but thought maybe it was due to the discount market I shop at. (aldi's) Those darn brown tinged bags makes it hard to tellif you have many green ones.

I have been using the green potatoes, though, just peeling them until the green is gone, so I hope that's okay.

Like many of you, I too have been finding a lot more green potatoes. I had a whole bag that was green that I had to throw out. I remember hearing about this at one point which led me to pitching them, but I didn't know if it was really true, or just legend (and I swear my husband thinks I make this stuff up and am so overly cautious). And I wasn't sure if it would make the whole potato bad, so thanks for letting me know that I just need to cut away the bad part.

Funny thing, I have never found a green potato in my CSA distributions!

Who knew?! Thanks for the helpful tip!

Green spuds are everywhere it would seem. I avoid buying potatoes in a plastic bag altogether,as the green ones are difficult to catch. I take the extra bit of time and hand pic each potato and it pays off in spades as I never get green ones. Storage is another thing to consider. My potatoes go quickly into a dark cupboard where it is cool. Another thing. In the summer you must protect your newly purchased spuds from both heat and sun.Put them on the car floor and cover them with a newspaper or coat.

I read about this years ago in Prevention magazine. If I remember correctly, you would have to consume a lot to actually get sick.

Thank you so much for keeping us all informed. I think it is of the utmost importance to stay informed and to stand for good clean food. If green potatoes seem to be more common than before, we should definitely talk to store managers, and use our $ and energy to be outspoken about the quality we want in our food supply.
I just walked into my friend's kitchen and saw a whole basket full of potatoes with a green tint all around!

I have heard that potato peels have a chemical that is not healthy. Do you know anything about that? Should we always be peeling our potatoes?

I'm glad I found your site.
-Stefanie

Hi Stephanie, from what I understand, the solanine occurs mostly right under the peel. When you peel the potatoes, you remove the highest concentration areas. But, usually there isn't enough solanine for there to be a problem, so it's perfectly fine to eat the peels, normally. Just don't eat the peels if the flesh directly underneath is green. Cut away those parts. ~Elise

Do you use a potato box, then, elise, or how do you store your potatoes and onions?

We store our potatoes in a woven basket in a closed pantry. The onions we eat up so quickly we store them in a basket on the kitchen counter. If we didn't eat them up so fast, they would be stored in the pantry also. ~Elise

This is great info! I've always peeled away the green, but didn't know what it was. Funny--a veggie that grows in the ground has been exposed to the sun? I'm not surprised that one poster didn't see green in her CSA potatoes.

Here's the question--Potato chips--I've seen green ones. Has the frying process destroyed the toxin? (I know, not healthy:) I'm just curious).

Based on the info from the Wikipedia page on Solanine, deep frying does reduce the toxins. ~Elise

Thank you! I had no idea about the green parts. I always cut them away anyway, just as I cut away brown spots and whatnot, since green is obviously not a normal potato color.

There is actually a potato inspector who is supposed to come through grocery stores periodically to check for this. I learned this when I worked at a small grocery store in 2005. Actually I think the guy looks at bagged produce in general, or maybe just apples and potatoes. At any rate, he complained about this to us, we were educated about it, and we removed the green potatoes from the shelves.

Unfortunately i don't remember where the guy was from, but somebody up in our government knows abotu this, and is probably the proper place for such complaints.

Funny comment above about how "if potatoes were discovered today they would not be approved to be consumed due to their toxic content." Makes you think twice about all this government regulation on our food. Let these people Eat!

Thanks for the hot tip about green potatos. I would have never thought of that tip. Keep up the good work.

What about green potato CHIPS? You know, potato chips that have green areas on them when you pull them out of the bag?

My father always taught me not to eat green potatoes, and that the whole potato should be discarded as it's not enough to just cut away the green bit.

As you've already stated the green bit is chlorophyll and indicates that the potato was exposed to light, while the solanine is colourless and odorless. According to my father it can be evenly spread throughout the potato but is most concentrated in the peel.

So I guess if you want to cut away the green bit and eat the rest, you should at least make sure it is peeled.

I grew up on a potato farm in NW MI and have known about green potatoes and sprouts my whole life. I recently was having a potato emergency and bought a bag of MI russets that were in a plastic bag (that was all that was available at the moment). In the store, under florescent lighting, they looked fine, at home in my kitchen, the entire bag was green, all over. So disappointing! One tip I have is only buy your potatoes in a paper bag and make sure the screen has been facing downward. Store lights will turn the potatoes green fast. My dad would get so upset when he noticed the potato bags upside down in the stores (we delivered our potatoes to all the local stores) and would take the time to educate every produce manager about the damage light can do to a potato. Potatoes need to breath, so putting them in a plastic bag will shorten their life, as will storing them next to onions. I always try to buy potatoes that have been grown in the state that I reside as I don't really need a potato that has traveled 2000 miles from Idaho. The short exposure time at farm markets is nothing to worry about, most stands won't have their produce out in direct sunlight, precisely to avoid the green potato from happening.

Hi Elise,

I'm a regular visitor to your blog, and have used several recipes (always to great effect-- thank you!). I read this post awhile back, but today was the first time I ever encountered a green potato. Thank you for making me aware of the presence of solanine-- probably saved me a few sick days :).

My husband did not hill our potatoes this year, or at least hill them enough. So we have lots and would like to know if we can use them for planting for next year?

No idea. I would consult your local nursery. ~Elise

Years ago my husband cooked up mashed potatoes with too much green--I'd been taught to remove the green parts, but he'd been taught to eat anything that doesn't run. I noticed a slight funny sensation on my tongue, similar to what you get from chewing a bit of tomato leaf, but decided to "not be a baby" and eat it anyway. Hah, last time for that one! I felt sick for days... Not horribly sick, just draggy, nauseous, headachy blah that went on and on. You don't have to toss the whole potato, just peel off all of the green.

Hi I just wanted to know if it would still be a problem to eat the potato if it was green but you peeled it only after you boiled it. Would it make a difference from if you peeled the green part off before boiling it?

My advice would be, if the potato just has a little green spot, cut out and discard the green part either before or after boiling. If it has lots of green, throw the whole thing out. ~Elise

G'day Elise
We get 'greenies' down under too. Though it's a rare occurrence, we'll get the odd 1 or 2 green spuds. I either whack the green bit off or bin the entire spud if it's green all over. Just a note...the nightshade family also includes tobacco too. Makes ya wonder a bit. And with all the fish & chips I've had in my life, (NOT healthy but quick & tasty), NEVER have I had a 'greenie' in the chip (french fry) bag.
Thank you for what you do here.
Cheers
Jas