Wild mushroom poisoning warning issued in Sakarya

Prof. Dr. Hamza Bozkır, Head of the Food Processing Department at Sakarya University of Applied Sciences (SUBÜ) Pamukova Vocational School, warned that the consumption of wild mushrooms, which increases with rainy weather, can lead to fatal health problems.

Prof. Dr. Hamza Bozkır emphasized that traditional methods used among the public to determine whether a mushroom is poisonous—such as cooking with a silver spoon, using onions, observing if insects eat them, or conducting taste and smell tests—have no scientific validity whatsoever. Stating that misdiagnoses can have fatal consequences, Bozkır noted that consuming cultivated mushrooms instead of gathering them from nature can be healthier.

Stating that mushrooms like Amanita phalloides, which are consumed by insects and snails, can be fatal for humans because the physiology of these creatures differs from human metabolism, Bozkır conveyed that the darkening of a mushroom with a silver spoon or onion does not indicate it is poisonous, and that this situation is a chemical reaction resulting from the contact of enzymes with oxygen. He also reported that mushrooms with a good taste or pleasant smell can likewise be poisonous.

Drawing attention to the fatal Amanita phalloides (death cap), the hallucinogenic Amanita muscaria (fly agaric), and Omphalotus olearius (jack-o'-lantern) species that might be encountered in the forests of Sakarya, Bozkır stated that poisonings can result in liver or kidney transplantation and death, and indicated that mushroom needs should be met from reliable places with known production standards.