Public Urged Not To Eat Foraged Wild Mushrooms
The County of Santa Barbara Health Department is issuing an updated warning regarding the dangers of consuming foraged wild mushrooms after the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) reported that recent rainfall has contributed to widespread growth of toxic death cap mushrooms across California, significantly increasing the risk of accidental exposure.
Since Death Cap mushrooms are easily confused for safe-to-eat mushrooms, all mushroom foraging should be avoided.
Between November 18 and January 18, the California Poison Control System (CPCS) has identified 39 hospitalized cases including 4 deaths, and 3 liver transplants linked to the ongoing outbreak. The cases have been reported across Northern California and the Central Coast, spanning regions from Sonoma to San Luis Obispo. Affected individuals range in age from 19 months to 67 years and include family groups and individual cases.
Poisonous mushrooms can look and taste like safe mushrooms. Some may resemble mushrooms that you buy in a grocery store. Additionally, people newly arrived to California who are accustomed to foraging in their home country may mistake poisonous mushrooms in California for safe mushrooms foraged or cultivated in their native country. Foragers in California face great risk.
“Even experienced mushroom foragers can make dangerous mistakes,” said Dr. Henning Ansorg, Public Health Officer. “Given the recent rain and the serious outcomes reported statewide, we strongly urge residents to avoid consuming wild mushrooms altogether during this high-risk period.”
How to stay safe:
- The best way to stay safe is to NOT EAT wild mushrooms
- Avoid eating mushrooms picked by friends or family
- Watch children when outside – Most poisonings happen to children under 6 • Keep pets away from wild mushrooms – animals can be poisoned too • Buy mushrooms from trusted grocery stores and retailers
• Death Cap mushrooms are still poisonous after cooking, boiling, freezing or drying
Symptoms of mushroom poisoning
Symptoms of death cap mushroom poisoning typically begin 6 to 24 hours after ingestion and may include nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, and dehydration. Symptoms may temporarily improve before severe liver damage develops. Anyone experiencing severe symptoms such as persistent vomiting, bloody diarrhea, confusion, or severe abdominal cramps should call 911 immediately.
What to do if you may have eaten a poisonous mushroom
- If mushroom poisoning is suspected, seek medical care right away or contact the California Poison Control Hotline at 1-800-222-1222, 24 hours a day. • If a pet has eaten a wild mushroom, contact a veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at 1-888-426-4435.
- When you go to the hospital: Take any of the uneaten mushroom with you if you can. To preserve the mushroom, place it in a paper bag or waxed paper (not plastic) and refrigerate. If you don’t have the mushroom, photos of the mushroom (including its cap, stem, and underside) can be helpful.
How to handle poisonous mushrooms
- Though touching a poisonous mushroom usually does not pose a risk, always wash your hands after you touch one.
- To dispose of poisonous mushrooms: Put the poisonous mushroom into a sealed bag and place into the regular garbage. Do not place poisonous mushrooms in home compost.
County Health urges residents not to pick or eat wild mushrooms.
For more information, visit the CDPH Poisonous Wild Mushrooms page go.cdph.ca.gov/PoisonMushrooms.
Also Read
- Recall for frozen chicken fried rice sold at Trader Joe’s due to glass contamination
- General Rain Advisory For Countywide Beaches
- Shifting Norms, Shaping Futures: Youth Media Campaign Aims to Reduce Underage Drinking
- Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics Promotes Heart Health This Valentine’s Day
- County Health Advises Vaccination As Measles Cases Rise
Foraging wild mushrooms is absolutely no joke. If you don’t know what you’re doing don’t even bother, it’s not worth it and no one may be able to save you. Your phone certainly won’t. When I was doing my internship we had a young couple flown in to the ICU for acute liver failure from eating the wrong ones. They both died there. That being said, I have a couple of friends that do know what they’re doing and thoroughly enjoy the foraging and cooking aspects of hunting mushrooms.
“When I was doing my internship we had a young couple flown in to the ICU for acute liver failure from eating the wrong ones. ”
SURE you did rube.
“I have a couple of friends that do know what they’re doing and thoroughly enjoy the foraging and cooking aspects of hunting mushrooms.”
Are these the same contractor friends that built houses that overlook Hendry’s?
Wait, you mean calling 911 won’t help you if you eat poisonous mushrooms? Why not? Wait, do you actually think that ALL toxic mushrooms cause instantaneous death? You really believe that some died while “you were an intern” (LOL yeah right) that means NO ONE survives mushroom poisoning? Heck, I know 3 people who did.
As a supposed “doctor,” telling people that their phone won’t help is such a reckless and unprofessional thing to say. My God. Did you give this awful advice to your patients? “Don’t bother calling for help, just lay down and wait for death no matter how mild the toxicity is.”
Dude…..
Get yourself to the hospital asap if you eat a bad mushroom, kid. Foraging is for experts, just like surfing when it gets big, skiing Cornice at Mammoth, or climbing Everest. That’s the point. You may die, and a phone won’t necessarily rescue your liver or your life. It’s common sense. Have a great day.
Maybe we should vote for tax dollars to go to billboard campaigns and Superbowl halftime commercials to warn people about something that kills a handful of people a year. Sounds funny when you voted for a president that has killed almost a million children world wide by withholding taxpayer dollars. GOP priorities.
BASIC – LOL you gotta be kidding… the Cornice is hardly an “expert” only run. Don’t try to pretend now you’re some kind of pro skier or some BS. I’ve lived and worked on that mountain for years. The Cornice bowl is is cake for most anyone with some solid intermediate skills. Avalanche Chutes and Hangman’s not so much, but the Cornice? 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Let me guess, you still working out pizza and french fries?
“a phone won’t necessarily rescue your liver or your life” – It sure the hell can if you pick it up and call 911.
You really have no idea what you’re talking about, ever. It’s hilarious, kid. Go back to Sesame Street, your Edgie Wedgies are waiting for you.
Don’t forget, he is a professional mountain biker too.
Please people…do NOT consume random mushrooms that you or your “expert” friends have collected. It’s not worth it! Plenty of commercially grown mushrooms available all year from local grocery stores. About 15 years ago a lifelong mushroom forager (Angelo Crippa) ate a pile of mushrooms that he found near Hendry’s Beach (I’m assuming it was at the Wilcox property…maybe it wasn’t there, but that is beside the point). That was last meal. We can all learn from the mistakes of others. My strong advice would be to stay away from the toxic mushrooms someone has picked and tells you that they are okay to eat….maybe they are, but maybe, just maybe…they are NOT.
Please stop giving common sense advice that no one asked for and a toddler could figure out themselves.
“Please stop giving common sense [sic] advice that no one asked for and a toddler could figure out themselves.”
No harm in pointing out the obvious if I can spare someone agony or their life. You and I are not the individuals who need to be told not to eat “iffy” mushrooms. The information in my comment simply reinforces the warnings already provided in the article. Each year dozens and dozens of people get extremely ill or die from ingesting poisonous mushrooms, which they thought were A-OK to eat. Public-service announcements, bolstered with additional comments made by people such as myself, are welcome in my world. If my comment helps just one person, then that’s a good thing. If it helps absolutely no one, then “big deal” as they say. Should not be controversial to warn people of the dangers of eating wild mushrooms.
I’m glad you feel comfortable assuming the role of Captain Obvious and posting elementary content.
The [sic] and the public-service and the myself are grammatical errors in your snooze-inducing text.