The Montana Department of Health and Human Service (DPHHS) recently launched a new web page with a warning for mushroom hunters.
The site focuses on the harvesting of morels, widely considered a delicacy and used frequently by restaurants. Many local mushroom hunters forage for these valuable fungi during the spring. As with all wild mushroom collecting, hunters need to be very careful about the identification, storage, and processing of their harvest. A morel mushroom poisoning outbreak in 2023 was attributed by health officials to poor storage or preparation of the mushrooms prior to serving to restaurant diners.
The DPHHS web site also warns that illnesses linked to morel consumption may occur more frequently than health officials realize, since symptoms may not be known to be related to morel consumption, or are not severe enough to report to medical professionals.
The site lists prevention steps that can be taken to avoid mushroom poisoning. As with all wild mushrooms, proper identification is critical. If an initial identification is unclear, an expert should be brought in to advise. Morels that are bruised or slimy should be avoided. Morels should be stored at 40 degrees or below, and should be cooked thoroughly before being consumed. “Cooking likely reduces toxin levels present in the mushrooms. Consuming raw or partially cooked morels may lead to varying degrees of gastrointestinal illness, or even death,” according to the DPHHS web site.
In the event gastrointestinal symptoms occur after eating any mushrooms, DPHHS urges victims to immediately contact their healthcare professionals. In turn, medical providers treating mushroom-related symptoms should report the case to the Poison Control Hotline at 1-800-222-1222.
