Parents are being advised to keep a close eye on where their children are playing in case there are wild, poisonous mushrooms growing nearby.

According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), people should not eat mushrooms that they find in the wild unless they have sought the advice of an expert mushroom forager.

So far this year, 18 cases of poisoning in relation to wild mushroom consumption have been reported to the National Poisons Information Center. Of these, 11 were children, all of whom had eaten wild mushrooms accidentally.

The total number of poisoning cases related to wild mushrooms in 2013 was 19.

The warning from the FSAI coincides with the start of the foraging season. According to Ray Ellard of the FSAI, it is very difficult for amateur mushroom foragers to tell the difference between safe and poisonous mushrooms that grow in the wild.

"The high number of cases involving children in particular points to the need for parents and guardians to be vigilant and to teach children not to eat wild mushrooms. We're advising parents and guardians to specifically watch children who may be playing in gardens or fields where wild mushrooms could be growing in case they accidently eat a poisonous mushroom," Mr Ellard said.

He insisted that an expert mushroom forager should be consulted because pictures of mushrooms in books and on websites ‘are not sufficient to identify safe mushrooms'.

"We would not recommend people to solely rely on these to determine the safety of a wild mushroom," he said.
Mr Ellard also emphasised that cooking does not kill the potentially toxic chemicals that are found in some wild mushrooms.

"Eating a wild poisonous mushroom, raw or cooked, can result in people becoming very ill with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea and, in some cases, it can result in liver failure," he said.

According to the FSAI, there are 14 native species of mushrooms currently growing in Ireland that can cause poisoning and 13 more species that are considered highly dangerous as they can cause liver and kidney toxicity, which can be life threatening.

Anyone with queries on wild mushrooms can call the FSAI's advice line on 1890 33 66 77 or the National Poisons Information Centre on (01) 809 2166. For more information on the centre, click here