As wild mushroom season begins, Australians are being warned about the risks of accidental ingestion of death cap mushrooms and other poisonous fungi.
On Monday, the Food Safety Information Council (FSIC) issued its annual warning against mushroom foraging, advising people against picking or eating wild mushrooms because of the poisoning risk.
The organisation said a combination of temperate weather and heavy rainfall meant wild mushrooms had been springing up across the country.
Without early medical intervention, eating poisonous mushrooms could quickly lead to liver or kidney failure, and potentially be fatal.
The FSIC warned that cooking, peeling or drying poisonous mushrooms does not remove the danger, and urged people to only eat mushrooms from reputable markets or grocers.
Consuming death cap mushrooms in particular had led to deaths in both Australia and overseas, FSIC CEO Lydia Buchtmann said.
"The poison in one death cap mushroom, if eaten, is enough to kill a healthy adult," Buchtmann said.
Non-native death cap mushrooms look and taste almost identical to other wild mushrooms, including edible mushrooms picked in Europe, or straw mushrooms used in some Asian cooking. In Western Australia, the native marbled death cap mushroom could have similar fatal effects.
Last year, Victorian woman Erin Patterson was found guilty of intentionally poisoning her lunch guests by serving them a Beef Wellington meal containing death cap mushrooms at her Gippsland home in July 2023.
However, it's not only death cap mushrooms that raise concern. Yellow-staining mushrooms are more common than edible mushrooms in urban areas, and account for most wild mushroom poisoning incidents in Victoria.
The FSIC recommended checking gardens and fields for mushrooms and removing them to decrease the risk of accidental exposure — especially amongst children and pets.
Mushrooms should not be removed with bare hands, and gloves or tools should be used to then place them in a plastic bag.
FSIC warned that if you think you've accidentally consumed a poisonous mushroom, do not wait for symptoms to appear — immediately head to an emergency department with a photo or sample of the mushroom.
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