Bay Area man dies from suspected mushroom poisoning
Bay Area man dies from suspected mushroom poisoning
Sonoma County has issued an urgent health warning regarding wild mushrooms, which are sprouting up across the entire Bay Area, posing extreme danger to people of all ages and their pets.
SANTA ROSA, Calif. - Sonoma County has issued an urgent health warning regarding wild mushrooms, which are sprouting up across the entire Bay Area, posing extreme danger to people of all ages and their pets.
Urgent health warning
What we know:
So if you want mushrooms, be sure to buy them from where they're inspected and regulated.
Foragers and mushroom pickers beware.
A Sonoma County man picked and ate some wild, so-called death cap mushrooms that poisoned and killed him last weekend; the third such California death since last November.
"It can be as little as one mushroom. They are very poisonous," said Dr. Michael Stacey, Sonoma County’s Interim Health Officer.
Stacey minces no words about this danger. "A lot of these death cap mushrooms are growing because of the weather conditions and so this year, in particular, we've seen many more cases than we typically do," he said.
On the rise
By the numbers:
This is extremely unusual because nationwide the average number of wild mushroom deaths is just three a year, out of some 7,400 annual poisonings, of which 86% result in no or minor illnesses. Extreme weather promotes mushroom growth and our weather this rainy season so far has seen three deaths, plus 35 severe wild mushroom poisonings and three liver transplants.
"I wouldn't trust myself to go out and pick mushrooms of any kind right now because it really takes an expert to be able to make a differentiation between a poisonous mushroom and a non-poisonous mushroom," said the doctor.
Local perspective:
One such expert is Julie Schreiber, chef, winemaker, a nationally known mushroom expert, foraging leader, and educator. A major reason for all the poisonings, an explosion of mushrooms.
"It's a banner year for mushroom foraging, so there's just be tons of mushrooms in people's yards. So, the amount of people collecting is higher," said Schreiber.
Few of us have any idea of what is and is not toxic. So, taking a wild mushroom foraging class is essential for safety.
"I personally took a mushroom identification class about 35 years ago, and I've been foraging and teaching people about foraging for a long time and I also teach people about cooking and eating mushrooms and I still feel like there's a lot that I don't know," said Schreiber.
So, if you are not dead certain that what you picked is not poisonous, never, ever eat it, even if you cook it. Again, stores and farmer's markets are the keys to your safety.