Deadly mushroom warning

With the arrival of autumn, the Food Safety Information Council has warned people not to pick or eat wild mushrooms, as deadly death cap mushrooms start to appear in southern and western regions of Australia.

Council Chair Rachelle Williams said that the poison in one death cap mushroom, if eaten, is enough to kill a healthy adult.

“These mushrooms start to appear this time of year and have been found in the Canberra region, in and around Melbourne and even in Adelaide. They are not native to Australia and are often found near oak trees growing in warm wet weather during autumn. The similar marbled death cap mushrooms have also been recently found in WA. While no cases have been reported in NSW or Tasmania, it may be possible that they grow there,” she said.

Death cap mushrooms are difficult to distinguish from other wild mushrooms, so the council advises consumers to play it safe and only eat mushrooms that have been purchased from the supermarket, greengrocer or other reputable source. People born overseas, especially in Asian countries, should be aware that these deadly mushrooms can look like edible mushrooms that they may have gathered overseas.

The toxin in death cap mushrooms is not destroyed by cooking. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps and often don’t appear until 10 to 16 hours after eating. These symptoms may ease for 2–3 days before a terminal phase of 3–4 days begins. Without early, effective medical intervention, people may go into a coma and die after 2–3 weeks of liver and kidney failure.

Nine out of 10 cases of mushroom poisoning in Australia result from death cap mushrooms. However, there are other wild mushrooms in Australia that, while not fatal, can make people ill with vomiting and diarrhoea. These include the yellow stainer, which resembles field a mushroom and is the most commonly ingested poisonous mushroom in Victoria.

“If you suspect you may have eaten a death cap mushroom, don’t wait for any symptoms to occur but go to a hospital emergency department, taking a sample of the mushroom with you if you can. You can also contact the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 (24 hours a day, seven days a week),” Williams concluded.

In the past 16 years, four people have died after eating death cap mushrooms found in the ACT. In 2012 two people died after eating the deadly mushrooms at a New Year’s Eve dinner party in Canberra, and in 2014 four people were seriously poisoned. If ACT residents see possible death cap mushrooms growing in Canberra, they should report them by contacting Access Canberra on 13 22 81.