The humidity and and unrelenting rain that's characterised summer and the start of autumn have created ideal conditions for wild mushrooms to sprout and authorities are warning not to risk eating the potentially poisonous fungi.
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The NSW Poisons Information Centre has received 73 calls about mushroom exposures this year.
It says 45 calls were about accidental exposures, with more than 80 per cent of them occurring in children under five.
There were 16 calls about adults who ate wild mushrooms as food and 10 calls about mushrooms being ingested for "recreational purposes".
NSW Poisons Information's Genevieve Adamo says the number of adults choosing to ingest the possibly poisonous mushrooms is alarming.
"Mushrooms found in the wild, even in people's own backyard, are not safe to eat," she said on Monday.
"For children, mushroom ingestion is often accidental. But for adults, we know that ingestion is usually intentional.
"People don't realise that this could be deadly," Ms Adamo said.
Many mushrooms growing in the wild can cause serious poisoning, including the Death Cap mushroom, which - if eaten - can lead to potentially fatal organ damage.
Poisonous mushrooms in Australia can look like edible mushrooms from Europe and Asia and changes in the appearance of mushrooms during the life cycle make it difficult to identify safely.
"Toxic mushrooms can grow in a spot where previously only edible mushrooms grew.
"The fact you have safely eaten mushrooms growing in that spot previously is no guarantee that it is safe to pick mushrooms again," Ms Adamo warned.
"Eating wild mushrooms is never worth the risk."
Australian Associated Press
