Food Safety Focus (225th Issue, April 2025) – Article 3

Avoid Picking Wild Mushroom for Consumption

Recently, there was a suspected case of food poisoning involving a patient who developed symptoms shortly after consuming self-picked wild mushrooms, requiring hospitalisation for observation.

Wild mushrooms may contain various naturally occurring toxins (e.g., amatoxins and muscarine) capable of inducing severe health consequences, including permanent organ damage and fatal outcomes. Nevertheless, gastrointestinal irritants represent the most prevalent toxic agents in both Hong Kong and globally, accounting for most of mushroom poisoning cases locally. These heat-stable toxins cannot be removed by cooking or canning, freezing or other means of processing. Mushroom poisoning typically presents with acute gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain shortly after ingestion.

The public should not pick wild mushrooms for consumption as it is extremely difficult to distinguish edible mushroom species from inedible ones. In case of suspected mushroom poisoning, the patient should seek immediate medical attention and bring along any remaining mushrooms for identification. Please refer to the pamphlet of the Centre for Food Safety for further information.