ATHABASCA — If you are heading out into the woods to forage for fresh mushrooms, it is important to know which ones are safe to eat and which will make you sick or even worse.
That was the topic of a Jan. 19 discussion presented by Science Outreach – Athabasca, featuring Dr. Roland Treu, an associate professor at Athabasca University (AU) since 2008. Usually, Treu would do the presentation in the field followed by cooking up some of the delicious fungi, but due to the pandemic the presentation was made online with over 90 tuning in.
“So, never eat any mushrooms you cannot identify 100 per cent,” Treu said. “I’ll come back to that again and again.”
His main topic was the toxicology of mushrooms, but he pointed out that the fungi are both a health food and a gourmet food with truffles, for example, that can cost thousands of dollars per pound.
“Mushrooms are a health food and they are gourmet food. Mushrooms are a source of medicines and mushrooms can provide a source of income,” he said. “Mushrooms have quite a good amount of proteins, and they have many vitamins, minerals, very low-fat content, caloric value is very low," Treu said. "So, putting some meat to the bones, mushroom contain about 20 to 35 per cent of proteins in the dry matter."
He added that mushrooms contain all nine essential amino acids, riboflavin, niacin and folic acids as well as potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc and copper and some have vitamins C and D.
“Their sodium content is very low so, this all points to very healthy food. They are good sources of dietary fibres (and) many antioxidants,” he said,
Not all fungi are mushrooms though, he pointed out. There is a highly-sought after fungus that grows on the discarded skin of caterpillars that sold for thousands of dollars per pound in 2013.
“Prices for caterpillar fungus peaked in 2013, at about $58,000 Canadian dollars, but they have gone down significantly,” he said. “About 10 per cent of the economic output in Tibet is related to caterpillar fungi.”
And while most people would not consider eating the moldy looking shed skin of a caterpillar, Treu explained that even safe looking mushrooms may not be. He noted hallucinogenic ergot fungus, which grows on plants, may have been contributed to the accusations that resulted in cause of the Salem Witch Trials that took place in 1692-1693.
“The term St, Anthony's Fire was used for these outbreaks and eventually it was found out that they are connected to this ergot fungus ... and it may have played a role also in the Salem Witch Trials because the hallucinogenic effects of this fungus may have made some people think that things are happening that didn't really.”
Treu noted the onset of illness after consuming poisonous mushrooms is an indication of how lethal it can be — if it is within minutes you should recover, but if it takes hours, it will likely lead to death.
“So, the main recommendations that we have are, inquire about the incubation period, it's very important when you have a fungal poisoning, the time between eating the meal and when the first symptoms are,” he said. “So, you eat the mushroom now and you'll feel fine for about 10 hours and only then the symptoms occur. That's always bad news. So, the longer the incubation period is, the worse it is from the medical standpoint, early medical intervention is crucial.”
The premise is, if you are not sure, do not eat it and make sure you wash the mushrooms well, especially if near a road or crop field as they may be covered in weed killer.
Treu added he is happy to assist anyone in identifying mushrooms and can be contacted through AU.
