From ‘mushroom murders’ to safe foraging: The risks and rewards of wild mushrooms • FRANCE 24

From ‘mushroom murders’ to safe foraging: The risks and rewards of wild mushrooms • FRANCE 24

It’s time now for our Entra news segment and on the heels of the verdict of Erin Patterson being found guilty of deliberately poisoning her aranged husband’s relatives. We’re discussing that story as well as the risks and precautions to take when picking wild mushrooms. Son Mujan joins me uh more about this for more about this. Son, we’re discussing this because we’ve just had a verdict in the trial of Erin Patterson. Yeah, we have. Uh the 50-year-old Australian woman has been found guilty uh on three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder for serving the family of her aranged husband uh individual portions of beef Wellington. They were laced with the poisonous death cap mushroom or ammonita uh uh feloides. Uh now there’s been quite a lot of fascination about this tragic family drama. Worldwide news agencies have been following the 9-week court case and they’ve waited with baited breath over the six days uh while the jur jury deliberated. Now, this has gotten me thinking about why are so many people fascinated with this case. Of course, there is the did she uh do it intentionally or was it an awful accident element and there the jury was categorical in their verdict. They found that she did intentionally forage and serve toxic mushrooms. And then there’s the fact that it was her in-laws uh and all there’s all that folklore that comes with that as well as a series of lies that were uncovered by the case. But above all, I think what draws people into this case is the mushrooms. Not only is there a long history of famous and also not famous people uh dying from eating mushrooms. Buddha may have died from eating a poisonous mushroom. It’s a disputed theory. Uh though uh same goes uh for the emperor Claudius uh who according to multiple texts was poisoned by his fourth wife so that her son Nero could become emperor and he did. Claudius is thought to have been killed uh by the ammonita mascaria the red and white top mushroom that looks exactly like you would imagine a poisonous mushroom to look. Um but uh mushrooms can be deceiving in their looks and I’ll explain more about that in a second. Uh but so there is this long history and this fascination as well could also come from the fact that uh mushroom picking is a pastime that most anyone and everyone can partake in and many of us do. It is that horrific line between an everyday meal uh that could be delicious and really good for you or potentially deadly. Well, beyond these really well-known cases, how common is it mushroom poisoning? Well, luckily mushroom murders are not that common, hence perhaps the fascination. But mushroom poisoning is more common than you might think. At least it is here in France. According to ancest uh which is the watchdog of poisoning cases in France, over a thousand people every year are poisoned by mushrooms and some 95% of those cases come from foraging wild mushrooms. So not industrial ones. ances uh tracks the cases every year from July to December of the prime mushroom uh hunting season. As for deaths, there are generally one to a few deaths every year in France uh from poisonous mushrooms. But even with those cases that are not fatal, toxic mushrooms can do major damage uh to your liver, to your kidneys, and in the best case scenario, they can lead to a very upset stomach. Micologists say it is essential to know your stuff before picking mushrooms because the risks can be lifealtering or fatal. This one is toxic, but it doesn’t matter if you mix it with the others. But these are deadly, especially here, the ammonita foides, which can be all shapes. It can be white, it can be big, it can be small. It’s deadly. You can’t take the risk of getting that one wrong. And here we have the fool’s webcap mushroom which is very very toxic. It destroys your kidneys. People who eat this mushroom are on diialysis for life. Foraging for mushrooms. Solange still is an an age-old pastime here in France and around the world. Yeah, it is. And it is a magical experience that combines forest walks or a connection to nature with a love of food. You’re finding what you eat alongside the economic element. uh you’re finding something that’s expensive for free along with the togetherness aspect. It can be great fun and it is very much a part of France’s cultural heritage. In the countryside, good mushroom spots are highly guarded secrets. People will not tell you and they may bring you a basket of trumped or black chantels, but they will not say where they foraged for them. However, even avid mushroom hunters in France know where to go if they have a doubt. Many go to the local pharmacy. Now personally this was something that surprised me when I moved to France uh in part and and it’s because in in France a training part of the training to become a pharmacist includes an indepth section on funguses and mushrooms and it is not uncommon especially in rural areas for people to go toarmacies with their treasure trove just to be sure about what they’ve picked. This isn’t good. This isn’t either not edible actually. There isn’t much that can be eaten here. If I can tell right away with the knowledge I have, I do. [Music] Otherwise, I take the mushroom, open up the books that we have available to us. This allows me to dig deeper and research the exact type and variety. Now, there are some caveats to French pharmacist expertise. Not all of them know uh all of this somewhat disappearing knowledge. City pharmacists may not have that many requests. So they may be a little bit rusty. Uh also there are major caveats uh to an increasingly used option or telephone apps that help you identify mushrooms. They too can easily get things wrong. Uh they are not uh to be entirely trusted according to micologists or mushrooms. They say be very careful with the apps. So the number one rule is and it and it’s is a firm rule. If you do not you are absolutely not sure of the certain type of mushroom do not pick it and if you have a doubt throw it out. That certainly would be my rule of thumb. I don’t think I would trust my instincts at all. But so long as you do have some other safety tips for us when it comes to picking wild mushrooms. Yeah, I do. In addition to this main rule, if you don’t know it, do not pick it. There are some other rules. Do not use a plastic bag when foraging. Bacteria can develop very quickly and turn an edible mushroom into a toxic one in a plastic bag. Same with older mushrooms. If it isn’t young and in perfect condition, let it stay in the forest. An older mushroom’s color may have faded, making it look like a safe one, when actually it isn’t. Get informed advice. We covered that already. Take a picture of the wild mushroom before you cook and eat it. Uh this can help doctors identify uh what poison you’ve eaten if you do get sick. Do not eat wild mushrooms raw and make sure that they are fully cooked because some are dangerous when undercooked but fine otherwise when fully cooked. Don’t give them to kids uh whose immune systems are weaker. It’s more dangerous for them. Now all of that is the scary stuff. Uh but again with the proper knowledge, mushroom hunting is a magical thing. It’s steeped in centuries old traditions here in France and elsewhere. And edible mushrooms are when they are the right ones uh great tasting and they can also be incredibly good for you. Okay, so some reasons to perhaps consider going mushroom foraging. It’s really fun. It’s worth it. I don’t think I’m going to do it anytime soon. Thank you. I have to say, thank you very much for that in our entre segment which you can also see previous episodes of on our website.

In this edition of Entre Nous, we take a deep dive into wild mushroom foraging. We discuss the details of the Australian “mushroom murders”, the fascination for this tragic family drama, as well as other famous cases. We also find out how common mushroom poisoning is here in France and what you need to know if you do go “champignon” hunting!
#MushroomMurders #ErinPatterson #mushrooms

Read more about this story in our article: https://f24.my/BIVt.y

🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN

🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/

Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen
Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen
Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen
Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen