I Thought They Were Edible... Most Wild Mushrooms in Autumn Are 'Deadly Poisonous Mushrooms'

Wild Mushroom Food Poisoning Incidents Most Frequent in Autumn
Even Small Amounts of Poisonous Mushrooms Can Cause 'Neurological Paralysis' and Life-Threatening Risks

[Provided by Gangwon Provincial Forest Science Institute]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] In Gangwon-do, a region with many mountainous areas, incidents such as food poisoning caused by mistaking poisonous mushrooms for edible ones are increasing every year. Therefore, special caution is required when collecting wild mushrooms and regarding food poisoning during the autumn season.

The Gangwon Provincial Forest Science Institute emphasized on the 31st, "After the summer monsoon and autumn typhoons pass through the Korean Peninsula, various wild mushrooms grow around the Chuseok holiday. More than 80% of accidents caused by wild mushrooms occur mainly in autumn, and the number of cases increases every year."

According to the institute's research, there are about 480 species of wild mushrooms, of which 20 to 30 species are edible. Especially, aside from representative autumn edible mushrooms such as shiitake, hazel mushrooms, mulberry mushrooms, neungi, matsutake, and multicolored cherry blossom mushrooms, most wild mushrooms are poisonous and difficult for the general public to distinguish.

Poisonous mushrooms such as yellow cluster mushrooms, red broom mushrooms, bitter matsutake, deer antler mushrooms, deadly umbrella mushrooms, dog neungi mushrooms, and lactarius mushrooms grow evenly in mountainous areas and have forms very similar to edible mushrooms.

Even a small amount of poisonous mushrooms can cause life-threatening symptoms such as nervous system paralysis, acute gastritis bleeding, acute renal failure, and liver failure. If you have eaten poisonous mushrooms, you must vomit immediately and seek hospital treatment.

Common folk beliefs without scientific basis, such as "mushrooms with traces of insects eating them are safe to eat" or "mushrooms that do not discolor a silver spoon are edible," should never be blindly trusted as criteria for determining the edibility of wild mushrooms.

Wild mushrooms must be confirmed as edible by experts through photographing and collecting samples for analysis before consumption.

The Gangwon Provincial Forest Science Institute stated, "Collecting wild mushrooms is illegal, and you should not collect or consume them based on personal judgment," and urged, "Please purchase and consume cultivated mushrooms safely produced by farms."