Mushroom inspectors sorted out a record 54 kilograms of deadly poisonous mushrooms in 2022. Of the total of 40 tonnes of mushrooms inspected, 33 tonnes could be released for consumption.
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Keystone-SDA/amva
Last year, the official inspectors carried out a total of 28,000 inspections, as the Swiss Mushroom Association (VSVP) announced on Friday. The inspectors therefore had “an extraordinary amount of work”. But it was worth it: in 2022 there was not a single serious or even fatal case of mushroom poisoning. In previous years, up to five serious cases of poisoning had been registered.
Among the mushrooms sorted out were also many potentially fatal ones. Around 10% of the large mushroom species found in Switzerland are poisonous. Another 80% are inedible. Only slightly less than 10% of the large mushroom species are edible.
However, even in 2022, mushroom poisoning was not completely absent. As Tox Info, the official poison information center in Switzerland, told Keystone-SDA in January, the foundation registered 25% more cases of mushroom poisoning in 2022 than in 2021. In the last 20 years, only in 2019 were there more cases of mushroom poisoning.
According to VSVP, the risk of eating uncontrolled wild mushrooms is often underestimated by lay people. The association warns in particular of the numerous smartphone apps for identifying mushrooms. These are useful for a first glance. But: “Under no circumstances should mushrooms be consumed that have only been identified by means of an app,” said VSVP President Raphael Rickmann, according to a statement.
Mushroom inspections are carried out during the main season, mainly from August to October, and are free of charge in many places.
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