How to tell if mushrooms are poisonous?

For people living in mountainous or forest areas, every early autumn, after an autumn rain, a lot of mushrooms will grow on the ground. We know that mushrooms have relatively high nutritional value, especially fresh mushrooms, which taste very good. However, we must understand that there are many types of mushrooms, some of which are poisonous and cannot be eaten. Once eaten by mistake, they will cause food poisoning. Therefore, before picking mushrooms, we must understand which ones are poisonous.

How to Identify Poisonous Mushrooms

1. Look at the growing area. Edible non-toxic mushrooms mostly grow in clean grass or on pine and oak trees, while poisonous mushrooms often grow in dark, damp and dirty areas.

2. Look at the color. The surface of poisonous mushrooms is brightly colored, including red, green, ink black, purple, etc. The purple ones in particular are often highly poisonous and tend to change color after being picked.

3. Look at the shape. The cap of non-toxic mushrooms is relatively flat, the umbrella surface is smooth, there are no wheels on the surface, and there is no sterile stipe at the bottom. The cap of poisonous mushrooms is convex in the center and has a strange shape. The surface is thick and hard, there are sterile wheels on the stalk, and the stipe is slender and thick, and easy to break.

4. Look at the secretions. Tear off the stalks of freshly picked wild mushrooms. The non-toxic secretions are as cool as water (some are white), and the surface of the mushroom does not change color when torn apart. The toxic secretions are thick and reddish-brown, and easily change color in the air after torn apart.

5. Smell the smell. Non-toxic mushrooms have a special fragrance, while poisonous mushrooms have strange smells, such as spicy, sour, and fishy.

6. Do the test. When picking wild mushrooms, you can rub the mushroom cap with green onion. If the green onion turns green-brown, it is poisonous. Otherwise, it is non-toxic.

7. Identify the color after cooking. When cooking wild mushrooms, add a little garlic or rice together. If the garlic or rice changes color when the mushrooms are cooked, they are poisonous. If they do not change color and remain their original color, they are non-toxic.

8. Chemical identification. Take the suspicious mushrooms that you have collected or bought, extract their juice, soak it with paper, and immediately add a drop of diluent or white vinegar on it. If the paper turns red or blue, it is poisonous.

Precautions

1. The incubation period of poisoning by poisonous mushrooms is 2-24 hours, and sometimes only 10 minutes.

2. Currently, there is no special treatment for poisonous mushroom poisoning, so the mortality rate is relatively high.

3. The toxins in some poisonous mushrooms will react with ethanol to aggravate the poisoning, so it is best not to drink alcohol when eating mushrooms.

4. Once poisoning occurs due to accidental ingestion of poisonous mushrooms, simple methods should be used to induce vomiting, gastric lavage, catharsis or enema, and the person should be sent to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible. At the same time, report to the local health supervision office and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (formerly the Health and Epidemic Prevention Station).