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A food taster is a person who ingests
food that was prepared for someone else, to confirm it is safe to eat. One who tests
drinks in this way is known as a
cupbearer
A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...
. The person to whom the food is to be served is usually an important person, such as a
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...
or somebody under threat of
assassination or harm.
Role
Food tasters have several functions:
* The safety of the food may be determined by observing whether or not the food taster subsequently becomes ill. However, food tasting is not effective against slow-acting poisons that take a long time to produce visible
symptoms.
* The food taster may also prepare and serve food, so they can be even more diligent in preventing someone from poisoning the food.
* In the event the target falls ill or dies, the similar illness or death of the taster provides evidence of deliberate poisoning.
Examples of food tasters
In
ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
, the duty was often given to a slave (termed the ''praegustator''). Roman Emperor
Claudius was killed by poison in AD 54, even though he hired a food taster named
Halotus
Halotus (c. 20–30 ADc. 70–80 AD) was an eunuch servant to the Roman Emperor Claudius, the fourth member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty.Anthony A. Barrett ''Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire'', page 140. Routledge, 1996. ...
. Tasters were sometimes coerced.
Over history, presidents and royal families have hired food tasters or sacrifices, over fear of being poisoned.
Queen Durdhara, the
Mauryan
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
empress, ate food that was prepared for her husband and died.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's food taster
Margot Wölk Margot Wölk (sometimes Woelk; 27 December 1917
Berliner Zeitung, Decem ...
tried the food at 8:00 am every day, and, if she did not fall ill, the food would be sent to Hitler's military headquarters.
President
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
has hired a food taster who is part of his security staff to protect himself as well.
In recent times, animals such as mice have been used to detect impurities in food produced for humans, such as during the
2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China. In the United States, several recent
presidents
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
, most prominently
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
, have been known to employ food tasters.
See also
*
Food poisoning
*
List of poisonings
These are lists of poisonings, deliberate and accidental, in chronological order by the date of death of the victim(s). They include mass poisonings, confirmed attempted poisonings, suicides, fictional poisonings and people who are known or suspec ...
References
External link
*{{commonscatinline
Food services occupations
Poisons