CHO Alert - Poisonous mushrooms growing in Melbourne - 5 March 2020

Name: Eastern Melbourne PHN
Address: Level 4, 990 Whitehorse Rd, Box Hill, VIC, 3128, Australia
Telephone: (03) 9046 0300

Status: Active

Date issued: 5 March 2020

Issued by: Dr Angie Bone, Deputy Chief Health Officer (Environment)

Issued to: Health professionals and consumers

Key messages

Poisonous mushrooms including Death Cap mushrooms and Yellow-staining mushrooms are currently growing around Victoria. This early growth has been brought about by recent heavy rain.
Extreme caution is advised when picking and consuming wild mushrooms - if in doubt, don’t consume.
Cooking, peeling or drying these mushrooms does not remove or inactivate the poison.
There is no home test available to distinguish safe and edible mushrooms from poisonous mushrooms.
Mushrooms purchased from a supermarket, greengrocer or other reputable source are safe to eat.

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne.