In a recent incident 7 persons died in the district of Charaideo consuming poisonous mushrooms. over the last 22 years, 133700 cases (7428/year) of mushroom exposure, mostly by ingestion, have been reported.
Rules to identify poisonous mushrooms for the beginners :
1. Avoid mushrooms featuring red caps or red stem. Not every red variety is poisonous, but it is safe to avoid anything red on mushrooms.
2. Avoid mushrooms featuring white gills, which is a ring on stem.
3. Avoid mushrooms with sack or bulbous base. Again, not all mushrooms with bulbous base are poisonous, but the important thing is one is on the safer side.
How to stay safe when picking mushrooms for eating?
1. Never pick old and decayed mushrooms. While buying, check their firmness, fresh appearance, and wholesomeness.
2. Immediately reject a mushroom that is bitten.
3. Do not buy umbrella-shaped or parasol-shaped mushrooms with white rings around their stems. These could be Amanitas variety, which is filled with the deadliest poison found in nature. These mushrooms turn brown as they age.
4. Reject mushrooms with wrinkled or irregular caps.
5. Do not be tempted by the sweet smell of mushrooms. Sweet-smelling mushrooms also can be poisonous!
6. Avoid tiny brown mushrooms and Omphalotus olearius, which is also called Jack O’ Lantern mushroom. This is a poisonous orange gilled mushroom.
Mushroom beliefs that can be dangerous :
1. “If you can peel a mushroom, it becomes harmless.” This isn’t always true. One can easily peel off the Death Cap mushroom, which is very poisonous. In a tragic incident this type of mushroom killed people in Meghalaya’
2. “Mushrooms that grow on wood are harmless.” This is not always true, so be careful while picking mushrooms from the wood. For example, Funeral Bell mushroom is deadly.
3. The most misguided belief is, “If animals are eating a mushroom, this means they are safe for human consumption.” Animals have a different digestive system; they can digest poisonous fungi.
Mushrooms are ranked in high quality breeding mushrooms, medium quality and low quality of nutrition. Also mushrooms are a good source of some vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, biotin and vitamin C, in some cases, beta-carrotene etc. Presence of minerals: P, Na, K, is at a high level. But Fe and Ca are present at low levels. It is important to note that the fungus can also accumulate heavy metals such as: Ni, Cu, Zn, Mn, Cr, Co, Se, and the most important contaminants are: Pb, Hg and Cd. The nutritional fungi significance except those used in pharmacy and medicine as antioxidants.
