Aussies urged to check their backyards after a weather event

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Heavy rain and temperate weather have triggered a sudden outbreak of an invasive species linked to several deaths in Australia.

Death cap mushrooms are sprouting, particularly on the east coast of Australia, and the Food Safety Information Council advises the best course of action is to check your yard and pull them out using extreme caution.

Because of their high toxicity, the council's CEO Lydia Buchtmann explained that it's important that the mushrooms don't touch your skin.

Food Safety Information Council

"Get a plastic bag, put it around the mushroom, and put it into the garbage, not the compost, and be very careful," she said.

She also warned anyone visiting parks or sports fields to look out for the fungus, particularly if they have small children or pets.

Death caps are usually pale green to yellow in colour with white gills, but they can resemble several other species.

In July 2023, Victorian woman Erin Patterson killed three of her family members and seriously injured a fourth after serving them beef Wellington laced with death caps.

Erin Patterson

While a court found her actions were deliberate, she has since appealed the conviction.

The Food Safety Information Council has noted that unintentional poisonings have also occurred in Australia.

Its advice is to only buy mushrooms from retailers and farms, because even expert foragers can struggle to distinguish between edible and deadly mushrooms.

She warned a quarter of a teaspoon of death cap can cause serious illness or death in a healthy adult.

Australia

"As soon as you've consumed it, the toxin will go into your liver, then into your other organs," she said.

"The only way to save you is a liver transplant, which is very drastic.

"It also knocks someone else off the organ transport list, with something that's preventable."

Death caps were accidentally imported to Australia on the roots of oak trees, and they are now established and difficult to eradicate.

What happens next

"Canberra is the death cap mushroom centre of the world, but you'll certainly find them in all the eastern states," Buchtmann said.

"There tend to be some in the north and the west too. Western Australia has a slightly different sort, but they're certainly poisonous too."

If you suspect you've eaten a deathcap mushroom, immediately call Triple-0. The Poisons Information Centre is available for advice from anywhere in Australia on 13 11 26.

Get a plastic bag, put it around the mushroom, and put it into the garbage, not the compost, and be very careful.

Putting it in context

Fresh produce runs on seasons that ignore calendars, and most supply problems begin as nothing more complicated than weather in the wrong week.

At a glance

Heavy rain and temperate weather have triggered a sudden outbreak of an invasive species linked to several deaths in Australia
Death cap mushrooms are sprouting, particularly on the east coast of Australia
Death caps are usually pale green to yellow in colour with white gills, but they can resemble several other species
While a court found her actions were deliberate, she has since appealed the conviction
The Food Safety Information Council has noted that unintentional poisonings have also occurred in Australia

Questions worth asking

What should you know about Australia?