Mushrooms: picking and consumption, be careful!

MIL OSI Translation. Region: France and French Territories –

Source: Republic of France in French

Credits: © Patrick J. – Fotolia.com

Each year in France, there are a thousand cases of fungal poisoning (severe digestive disorders, kidney complications or liver damage that may require a transplant). It is therefore essential to learn to recognize the species of mushrooms that you collect, some poisoning may result in hospitalization and sometimes lead to death.

The National Agency for Food Safety, Environment and Labor (ANSES) provides an update on the issue by publishing a list of recommendations:

pick only the mushrooms you know perfectly; do not consume your crop until you have it checked by a specialist (pharmacist or association and mycology society in your area); take a picture of your picking, before cooking (to allow, in case of intoxication, the pharmacist or the poison center doctor to decide on the appropriate treatment); pick only the specimens in good condition and collect the entire mushroom (foot and hat), to allow identification; avoid polluted sites (roadsides, industrial areas, landfills), fungi concentrating pollutants; put the mushrooms in a box or cardboard, the plastic bags accelerate the decay; separate the mushrooms harvested by species, a poisonous mushroom that can contaminate the others; wash hands after harvest store them separately and in good conditions in the refrigerator and eat them within 2 days maximum after picking; consume them in a reasonable amount spaced over time, after sufficient cooking. Never consume them raw; do not offer mushrooms picked to young children.

To know :

In the event of one or more symptoms following fungus consumption (nausea, vomiting, sweating, tremors, vertigo, visual disturbances, etc.), contact the Poison Control Center 15 or the poison control center immediately. the closest. As a rule, symptoms appear within 12 hours after consumption but in some cases, poisoning may occur later. Remember to note the time of the mushroom meal (s) and the first symptoms and keep the remains of the picking for identification.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and / or sentence structure not be perfect.