A craze for picking wild mushrooms may be causing dozens of cases of potentially fatal poisoning, a British watchdog has warned.
Hundreds of cases of suspected mushroom poisoning have already been reported this year.
So far there have been no deaths but some people have developed "severe symptoms", according to the National Poisons Information Service, based in Newcastle, UK.
The majority of cases involve children, it said. The service has received some 209 calls this year – 63 involved adults.
In the same period last year there were just 123 cases and in 2008 some 147.
Service director Professor Simon Thomas said: "Environmental and weather conditions in recent months have resulted in there being a bumper crop of wild mushrooms in many parts of the UK during this mushroom season. This has encouraged people to forage for wild mushrooms and include these in their diet.
"It is important to note that the toxins contained within some of the most dangerous varieties of wild mushrooms are generally not destroyed by cooking.
"While many mushrooms growing in the wild are delicious and safe to eat, it is not always easy, even for people with experience, to differentiate between toxic and non-toxic species."
He added: "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."
Leave a Reply