Picking mushrooms: edible, toxic, good practices

[Mise à jour le 12 septembre 2022 à 13h29] The weather conditions of recent days have favored the growth of mushrooms and the first amateurs have already gone picking. But beware ! “Since the beginning of September, poisonings reported to poison control centers have increased: more than sixty cases have already been identified” alerts the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines (handles) in a press release dated September 8, 2022 In 2021, four people died following the confusion of an edible species with a toxic species; 1,269 poisonings have been reported to poison control centres; 15 young children were poisonedone of them had to benefit from a liver transplant. “Whether you are a connoisseur or an occasional picker, stay alert and follow good practices for safe consumption.” Practical advice.

What is the list of edible mushrooms?

Among the edible mushrooms:

• Boletes : Orange Bolete (Leccinum aurantiacum), Red Bolete (Leccinum floccopus), Pale Bolete (Boletus luridus)…
• The porcini mushrooms : Bordeaux boletus, edible boletus (Boletus edulis), fir boletus (Boletus pinophilus), bronze boletus (Boletus aereus)
• milk caps : Pitch-colored Milkcap (Lactarius picinus), Blood Milkcap (Lactarius sanguifluus); Milk cap (Lactarius vinosus)…
• the russules : Great Russule (Russula cyanoxantha), Old Rose Russule (Russula vesca), Green Russule (Russula virescens)…
• button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)
• Agarics
• The parasol mushrooms and lepiotes (Macrolepiota procera): Ragged Lepiote (Chlorophyllum rhacodes)…
• Hygrophores: Wood hygrophore (Hygrophorus nemoreus)…
• Tricholomas: Colombette (Tricholoma columbetta), Pied-bleu (Lepista nuda)…
• The oyster mushrooms
• Chanterelles
• Sheep’s feet
• Morels: conical morels (Morchella elata), morels Blondes (Morchella esculenta)…

What are good practices when picking mushrooms?

• Only collect mushrooms that you know perfectly well: some highly toxic poisonous mushrooms are very similar to edible species.
• Collect only specimens in good condition and take the entire fungus (stem and cap) to allow identification.
• Do not pick mushrooms near potentially polluted sites (roadsides, industrial areas, landfills).
• Separate the mushrooms by species harvested to avoid mixing pieces of poisonous mushrooms with edible mushrooms.
• Place the mushrooms separatelyin a crate or cardboard box, but never in a plastic bag which accelerates rotting.
• Do not consume mushrooms identified solely by means of a recognition application mushrooms on smartphone, due to the high risk of error.
• Photograph your picking before cooking.

Never feed mushrooms to young children.

After picking:

• If in doubt about the condition or identification of one of the mushrooms harvested, do not eat the harvest before having it checked by a specialist. Pharmacists or mycology associations and societies in your area can be consulted.
• Wash hands thoroughly after harvest.
• In general, mushrooms should be eaten in small quantities, well cooked.
• Never eat wild-picked mushrooms raw.
• Never feed the mushrooms you have picked to young children.
• The cooking time for mushrooms varies depending on the mode (20 to 30 minutes in the pan, 15 minutes in boiling water).

What to do in case of doubt about a fungus?

Beware of digital applications that offer recognition systems. They are not always reliable. If in doubt about the identification of one of the mushrooms harvested, do not eat the harvest before having it checked by a specialist in the field: pharmacist or mycology association. The MycoFrance association lists the list of poisonous and edible mushrooms. ANSES recommends taking a photo of the mushrooms before cooking them: it could prove useful in the event of food poisoning. To note that the stem of some mushrooms is not always edible.

• Store the mushrooms in the refrigerator (maximum 4°C) avoiding contact with other foods and consuming them within two days of picking.
• Consume mushrooms in reasonable quantities after a sufficient cooking time (20 to 30 minutes in a frying pan or 15 minutes in boiling water) and never eat raw wild mushrooms.
• Never offer picked mushrooms to young children. Make sure they don’t put a fungus in the garden or schoolyard in their mouth.

Mushrooms should always be well cooked. For the preparation of edible mushrooms, a cooking for at least 15 minutes is recommended to destroy microorganisms and parasites likely to contaminate picking or harvesting. All mushrooms with the character of raw poisonous, that is, including a heat-labile toxin, should be pan-fried for 20-30 minutes so as to reach a core temperature of 70°C or boiling water at 100°C for 15 minutes. In this case, it is recommended to discard the cooking water. For consumers, it is recommended to consume the mushroom in perfect freshness, and in reasonable quantity and frequency, of 150 to 200 grams of fresh mushrooms per adult per week.

Symptoms usually begin to appear within 12 hours after consumption.

What symptoms in case of poisoning?

The signs in case of poisoning can be more or less serious depending on the type of mushroom consumed and the quantity ingested. These are often digestive disorders (diarrhea, vomiting, nausea), sometimes tremors, dizziness, visual disturbances, liver damage in some cases can be fatal. “Symptoms usually begin to appear within 12 hours after consumption and the intoxicated person’s condition can worsen rapidly“, indicates ANSES on its website.

What to do in case of poisoning?

If you notice the appearance of one or more of these symptoms following the consumption of mushrooms collected in the wild, immediately call 15 or 112 or poison Control Center closest to you. It is very important to mention to your interlocutor that you have eaten mushrooms, specify the time of the last meal, the time of onset of the first signs as well as a precise description of the symptoms.

Two reflexes: Photograph your picking before cooking! The photo will be useful to the toxicologist at the poison control center in the event of poisoning, to guide you towards the most suitable treatment. And keep leftovers to allow better identification of the species.

Sources:

The mushroom season has started, be vigilant! ANSES, September 8, 2022

List of cultivated and wild edible mushrooms based on an ANSES opinion of April 4, 2017