Wild mushroom warning to autumn foragers

24 September 2010

A wild mushroom safety message has been issued by the Health Protection Agency's poisons experts.

The National Poisons Information Service (NPIS), which is commissioned by the Health Protection Agency, is sounding the alarm as every autumn it receives queries from clinicians needing help treating those who have picked and consumed sometimes dangerously toxic wild mushrooms.

It is thought that the 2010 autumn wild mushroom season began in late August and it is expected to run, in some parts of the UK, for several more weeks. But there are dangers as some types of mushroom are so poisonous they can prove fatal if eaten.

Professor Simon Thomas, Director of the NPIS unit in Newcastle, has warned that anyone going mushroom picking needs to be very careful before consuming their crop.

He 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.

"NPIS receives enquiries from NHS staff each year who are concerned about people who have ingested mushrooms. Some of these have inadvertently picked and eaten toxic mushrooms and subsequently developed severe symptoms of mushroom poisoning. Very occasionally this has resulted in death, although this has been rare in the UK.

"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. 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."

Most cases involve accidental ingestion of mushrooms by children under ten; these do not usually result in severe symptoms. Enquiries concerning adults often occur after deliberate ingestion of mushrooms collected in the wild.

Already in 2010, NPIS has answered 209 telephone enquiries relating to ingestion of mushrooms. During the corresponding periods of previous years there were 123 enquiries (2009) and 147 mushroom enquiries (2008). The numbers known to involve adults were 63 (2010), 33 (2009) and 42 (2008).

Dr John Cooper, director of the HPA's Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards, which commissions NPIS, said: "Foraging for wild food can be great fun. But people need to be aware that when it comes to mushrooms there can be very real risks to health involved and think carefully about what they are doing."

Notes to Editors

The National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) is a clinical toxicology service for health care professionals working in the NHS. It is endorsed by the Department of Health (DH) and commissioned by the HPA. It provides expert evidence-based advice on all aspects of acute and chronic poisoning, supporting best practice in the diagnosis and management of patients who may have been accidentally or deliberately poisoned, whether by ingestion, injection, inhalation or skin or eye contact. Further information can be obtained from www.hpa.org.uk by navigating as follows: Home >> Chemicals & Poisons >> Services and Activities >> Poison Information Services >> NPIS Services
The Health Protection Agency commissions the four units of NPIS in Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Newcastle to provide information and support on the diagnosis and management of poisoning to health care professionals in the UK.
Some useful guidance on wild food foraging can be found on the Food Standard Agency's website http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2004/sep/forage
For media enquiries, NPIS staff are available for interview, contact the HPA's CRCE press office on 01235 822745 or 01235 822876.

Last reviewed: 24 September 2010