Food Safety Information Council warns against wild mushrooms

Social media influencers are spruiking the popular pastime, prompting an urgent warning as weather conditions spark a boom of deadly wild mushrooms.

A popular pastime of collecting wild mushrooms that is being “heavily promoted” on social media has been called out as potentially life-threatening by the Food Safety Information Council.

The Council has issued an urgent warning to Australians not to forage for wild mushrooms because of the poisoning risk from deadly death cap mushrooms.

The toxic fungi are suspected to be behind the deaths of three people following a family lunch in Leongatha last year.

The case made headlines across the world when Erin Patterson was charged with murder following the deaths, accused of using death cap mushrooms in her beef Wellington.

Council chair Cathy Moir said gathering wild mushrooms can be life-threatening.

“We are particularly concerned about this growing online promotion of mushroom foraging with some wild mushroom social media groups having over 40,000 members seeking to have their photos of mushrooms identified by fellow foragers,” Ms Moir said in a statement.

“Apps and Google are not reliable to identify mushrooms accurately as they often only recognise Northern Hemisphere mushrooms and mushrooms change appearance during their growth cycle.

Death cap and a baby death cap. The bulbus base of the stem is a good indication to people picking mushrooms that they need to avoid this one. Picture: Sarah Matray

Ms Moir said death cap mushrooms were found in and around Melbourne, parts of Canberra, Tasmania and also in Adelaide growing in warm, wet weather.

“They are not native to Australia and are often found near English oak trees,” she said.

Ms Moir said while rare, most of the deaths from mushroom poisoning in Australia were from death cap mushrooms.

“However, there are other wild mushrooms in Australia that have caused fatalities or can make you seriously ill with abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea.”

Ms Moir said death cap mushrooms were difficult to distinguish from some other wild mushrooms.

Fungi expert Dr Tom May inspects a toxic Yellow Stainer. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

“We recommend you play it safe and only eat mushrooms that you have purchased from a supermarket, greengrocer or other reputable source,” she said.

The Council said the poison in the quarter of a cap of one death cap mushroom, if eaten, was enough to kill a healthy adult and that the toxin was not destroyed by peeling, cooking or drying.

Symptoms of poisoning include vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps and usually appear 10 to 16 hours after eating.

It added that without early, effective medical intervention people may go into a coma and die after two or three weeks of liver and kidney failure.

“Many accidental exposures to poisonous mushrooms are in children under five years,” Ms Moir said.

“Parents, school and childcare workers should regularly check outdoor areas and gardens for mushrooms and remove them to reduce the risk of them being eaten accidentally. This will also protect your pets.”

If you suspect you or your child may have eaten a death cap mushroom the advice is not to wait for symptoms to occur, but go to a hospital emergency department and take the mushroom with you if possible.

Information is also available through the national Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26.