An essential part of the population, especially in the rural area, prefers to eat mushrooms growing in the natural environment. Which they sometimes harvest in urban areas. Under the pretext of knowing the difference between edible and poisonous mushroom.
The mushroom is a favorite food for a large number of consumers, mainly due to some nutritional qualities that they contain by quite important protein content (similar to milk casein, egg albumin or wheat gliadin).
It can vary between 2% and 4.5% with 18 amino acids, carbohydrates between 3.5-10%, rich in vitamins, mainly vitamin D, C, E and B complex vitamins, the mushrooms are rich in minerals especially potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, iron, and selenium are also rich in fiber, which helps good intestinal transit and diet.
The mushrooms contain little sodium, no cholesterol, and the presence of glycogen in mushrooms, which is characteristic of the animal kingdom, makes them called “vegetal meat.”
Different mushroom species grow in natural areas (forests, meadows), their development is favored by periods of heavy rains or cultivated in specialized units (mushrooms), groups where specific, well-established technologies are used for each type of mushroom.
We notice the population as among the mushrooms there are distinct toxic species, or that can be lethal to humans, sometimes even those considered suitable for consumption may give poisonous symptoms (e.g. champignon) and if they are harvested too late or if parasites attack them or frostbite, may contain toxic substances for the human body.
Know the Difference Between Edible and Poisonous Mushroom
In our country, there are about 50 species of toxic mushrooms (out of over 4000 known mushroom species), and their number increases year by year due to genetic mutations, a very complex phenomenon even for connoisseurs.
Some mushroom species produce heat-resistant toxins, which even the long boiling does not manage to destroy them, causing very seriously, sometimes deadly, poisonings.
There are also many mushroom species, which when they are raw, have a certain degree of mushroom intoxication, and after a longer boil, they become totally harmless and useful for consumption.
Those who do not know the death cap (Amanita phalloides) do not dare to pick mushrooms. Mushrooms collected for consumption should be checked by a specialist. I do not have to believe the superstition that the silver spoon gets worse because the food prepared from the mushrooms is altered, not because of the poisonous mushrooms.
There are both edible and poisonous mushrooms whose meat changes color at the time of cutting, but the flesh of the death cap (Amanita phalloides), which causes deadly poisoning, retains its white color after cutting.
Things We Should Know About Mushroom Intoxication
- As onions and parsley do not change their tone when they come in contact with toxic mushrooms.
- That not always the colorful mushrooms are the most poisonous.
- That not all sweet and savory mushrooms are edible.
- That the symptoms of fungal poisoning may occur to humans but not in domestic animals; that mushrooms attacked by insects or snails may also be toxic.
During the harvest, the leg of the unknown mushroom is not removed with the knife, and the fruit bodies are carefully selected, thus morphological characters on foot, important for determination, remaining intact. To collect the mushrooms, we use pimples or cardboard boxes (no bags are used in which the fruit bodies deteriorate or become damaged, and then the correct identification is impossible). No frozen, wet, moldy, snail and insect pests, aged or damaged, are harvested.
Fresh mushrooms and mushroom food are unkept for more than a day, not in the refrigerator. For long-term storage, freeze or conserve with salt. To dry, hot and airy places are used. After which, the dried mushrooms are stored in paper bags or hermetically sealed plastic.
There are many rare, endangered mushrooms, so it is recommended to harvest the recognized edible species. Unknown or toxic species do not break with the foot.
After some authors the mushrooms can be checked by different methods, of which it is recommended:
introduce a silver teaspoon into the pot where the mushrooms are boiled, if the spoon is oxidized, the mushrooms are poisonous.
To put green parsley in the pot where the mushrooms are boiled, if it changes color, it means they are not suitable for consumption.
Mushroom poisoning occurs unexpectedly through the consumption of mushrooms harvested from the natural flora, caused both by the correct ignorance of the types of mushrooms and by the crossing phenomenon with spores between the edible mushrooms (which you can grow in your greenhouse) and the toxic mushrooms.
Mushroom Intoxication Symptoms
Symptoms of mushroom intoxication vary depending on the species, more precisely the type of toxin involved, and the duration of the incubation period, and are generally manifested by a stomach upset, vomiting, a headache, abdominal sweating or severe asthmatic symptoms
To prevent accidents caused by the consumption of uncontrolled mushrooms, the professional pharmacists advise the population not to consume mushrooms purchased from the street trade or harvested from the forest, even if they know how to distinguish those that are poisonous from poisoning but for which there is no guarantee that they are edible.
Food chain security specialists recommend that the population supply mushrooms only from authorized units (food stores, grocery stores or hypermarkets and supermarkets, public food units) units where mushrooms grown in specialized mushrooms have marketed this activity and presented a guarantee for consumers and eliminates the risk of illness.
Mushroom poisoning constitutes a medical emergency, and therefore urgent medical attention is required for specialist treatment.
Final Words
To protect your life and health, we recommend buying and eating mushrooms only from licensed production units (mushrooms) and put up for sale through approved commercial units, accompanied by quality certificates and phytosanitary certificates certifying their edibleness.
In particular, we draw attention to the danger posed by the use of mushrooms from unauthorized sources by children. Especially young people due to the severity of intoxication forms that may occur at these ages.
