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Looks can deceive when it comes to wild mushrooms
January 23, 1997
Web posted at: 9:14 p.m. EST (0214 GMT)(CNN) -- They may look enticing, but so-called "death cap" mushrooms can be a deadly ingredient for any meal.
People pick them from the wild, mistaking them for a benign variety of mushroom. More than 30 percent of those who eat them die.
"Unless you've studied mushrooms and you know your wild mushrooms, do not eat any wild mushrooms, especially those that are white."
-- mycologist Bill Freedman
Known technically as amanita phalloides, "death cap" mushrooms can destroy the liver. They account for 95 percent of mushroom-poisoning cases around the world.
"It doesn't take a whole mushroom to get you in trouble," says Philip Rosenthal of the University of California at San Francisco. Only part of a mushroom, depending on how much toxin is in that section, is enough to get someone in trouble, he adds.
"So my advice is that unless you are very, very familiar with what you are picking, it is better not to eat wild mushrooms."
The problem of poisonous mushrooms was spotlighted recently when Sam Sebastiani Jr., a member of the famous Sebastiani wine-making family, died this month after eating death cap mushrooms.
His death was part of an outbreak that has hospitalized at least nine people in Northern California since December 28.
Recent rains have brought on an abundance of death caps in the San Francisco area. The poisonous mushrooms also have been spotted in upstate New York, Virginia, Southern Maine and Ohio.
"People must learn they can find these mushrooms all year long in irrigated areas. They are not seasonal anymore," Freedman said.
"...Always err on the side of safety," said wholesaler Stanley Corriea Jr. of the Stanley Produce Co., who only buys mushrooms from reputable pickers. "If you don't know a mushroom or you're not aware of the right type of mushroom, or if you think it might be this type ... don't use it."
(158K/14 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)
Correspondent Linda Ciampa contributed to this report.
Related sites:
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- The MycoPage - information regarding mushrooms
- Edible and Poisonous Mushrooms
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