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.

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.

Christmas is over and the tree has long been hauled down - but if you still have your old Christmas tree, you should consider putting it in your garden instead of driving it to the tip.

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 agency was forced to issue the bizarre warning after the council in Ghent City launched a campaign last Thursday encouraging people to recycle their Christmas trees to reduce waste.

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.

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