Australia’s Food Safety Information Council is warning adventurous food eaters not to pick wild mushrooms because of the early arrival of the deadly deathcap fungi after a soggy summer.
Toxic mushrooms grow during all seasons of the year but pop up particularly quickly in moist areas.
Deathcap mushrooms can be mistaken for more common edible varieties but a single one has enough poison to kill a healthy adult, according to the national voice for consumer-focused food safety information.
Nine out of 10 mushroom poisonings are caused by the introduced wild species, which largely grows in Canberra and Melbourne, and have also been reported to be found in Tasmania, and Adelaide since Christmas.
“While rare, most of the deaths from mushroom poisoning in Australia result from deathcap mushrooms,” the council’s chair and microbiologist Cathy Moir said in a release.
Since it’s difficult to differentiate a toxic mushroom from one that’s harmless, she recommends people assume all wild mushrooms are toxic.
“Play it safe and only eat mushrooms that you have purchased from a supermarket, greengrocer or other reputable sources,” Moir said.
“The toxin in deathcap mushrooms is not destroyed by peeling, cooking or drying.”
Symptoms of poisoning usually appear six to 24 hours after eating and include abdominal pains and diarrhoea.
“These symptoms may ease for 2 to 3 days before a terminal phase of 3 to 4 days begins. Without early, effective medical intervention people may go into a coma and die after 2 or 3 weeks of liver and kidney failure,” Moir said.
More than a third of the calls to the New South Wales (NSW) Poisons Information Centre in 2020 were for children under five being exposed to toxic mushrooms.
“Parents, schools and childcare workers should regularly check outdoor areas and gardens for mushrooms and remove them to reduce the risk of accidental poisoning. This will also protect your pets,” Moir said.
“If you suspect you may have eaten a deathcap mushroom don’t wait for symptoms to occur but go to a hospital emergency department taking the mushroom in a container (and washing hands after handling) with you if you can.”
Moir also said there are other mushrooms in Australia that people should be aware of.
Various Cortinarius and Galerina species, the ghost mushroom (commonly mistaken for oyster mushrooms), and the yellow stainer which resembles a field mushroom and is the most commonly ingested poisonous mushroom in Victoria and NSW can also cause fatalities or mild illness like vomiting and diarrhoea.
If you have concerns about potential wild mushroom poisoning, you can contact the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.
