Foragers warned about wild mushrooms
FAR North wild food foragers are being urged to take extra care when looking for mushrooms because of the risk of picking toxic varieties.
Leading the call for vigilance are poisons experts from the UK’s Health Protection Agency.
Dozens of people seek medical advice each year after eating toxic varieties of wild mushroom which they have picked themselves. Some varieties which grow wild in the United Kingdom are so poisonous that they can be fatal if eaten, even after cooking.
Between January and the end of July this year, the Health Protection Agency commissioned National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) was consulted for advice on 100 cases.
Director of the NPIS unit in Cardiff Dr John Thompson said as wild mushrooms are now in season people need to be aware of the potential dangers of picking al fresco varieties.
“While many mushrooms growing in the wild are tasty and safe to eat, it is not always easy to differentiate between toxic and non-toxic species, even for people with experience in foraging,” he said.
“The NPIS therefore advises that people should not eat mushrooms collected in the wild unless they are familiar with the various species that grow in the UK and are sure that the mushrooms they have collected are safe to eat.”
In 2011 the NPIS saw 257 cases of poisoning linked to eating mushrooms.
Most cases of accidental eating of mushrooms are seen in children under ten and they do not usually result in severe symptoms.
More information can be found on the Health Protection Agency website: www.hpa.org.uk