Hunting milk mushrooms in the woods
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Hunting milk mushrooms in the woods

Expert Reports  
01-28-2025
 

In Russia, ‘silent hunting’ is gaining momentum. Recently, gathering mushrooms in the wild has become so popular that even mushrooming tours have appeared. Many people want to pick up many mushrooms - a whole basket - but are afraid to go into the forest, meet a dangerous animal or make a mistake and pick up poisonous mushrooms. Mushroom poisoning happens every season in our country. This year, particularly many people were poisoned by mushrooms in the city of Gelendzhik. Ten enthusiasts of ‘silent hunting’ were admitted to the city hospital. Our correspondent found out what mushrooms they ate and got poisoned by and why, as well as how to avoid becoming victims of the poisonous ‘gifts of the forest’.

Yanina Skorikova, deputy head of the resort city for social issues reported that Gelendzhik doctors are concerned that many patients poisoned by mushrooms have been admitted to the city hospital. Among the poisoned people, there is even a pregnant girl. According to Roman Kondratenko, deputy chief physician of the city hospital for the medical treatment, a lot of inexperienced mushroom pickers were hospitalized with mushroom poisoning after picking mushrooms in Gelendzhik and its environs.

- More than ten people have already contacted us, three of them are hospitalized at the intensive care unit, two are at intensive care units of regional medical institutions, all are severely poisoned by mushroom, he says.

Kondratenko specified that the mushroom poisoning is characterized by a syndrome of multiorgan - renal and hepatic - failure. Patients receive serious therapy, including hemo- and plasma-filtration, and hemodialysis. The age of patients is from 22 to 70 years.

Each case of mushroom poisoning is serious and poses a great threat to life and health. One poisonous mushroom is enough to cause severe poisoning. An alarming fact is that half of those who needed help are not just hospitalized, but have been admitted to the intensive care units. Experts urged those who are fond of ‘quiet hunting’ to be cautious and ‘think several times’ before going mushroom picking. It is better to use mushrooms bought at stores as they undergo quality control.

Ten people were poisoned by mushrooms this autumn, in October and November, the Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal State Agency for Health and Consumer Rights) Department for the Krasnodar Territory informed.

- According to the department, it is known that some of the patients ate butter mushrooms (Boletus luteus), russules (Russula) and milk mushrooms (Lactarius piperatus) picked in the forest, as well as in the forest plantation of the village of Pshada, the Gelendzhik District. When cooking mushrooms, they did not follow the required technology, did not boil mushrooms before frying them.

According to the Ministry of Health of the Krasnodar Territory, about 250 people have sought medical help for mushroom poisoning since the beginning of the year, and 60 percent of them were hospitalized.

There are cases with a tragic outcome. This fall in Sochi, a 25-year-old man who came from the Arkhangelsk Region had a drink during a retreat; the drink was prepared by a 20-year-old organizer of the event and was based on fly agarics (Amanita muscaria), and the man died the next day from poisoning. Investigators institute a criminal case due to providing unsafe services. The culprit admitted his guilt.

Experts urged people to be cautious when mushrooming in the wild and pick only the mushrooms they know, do not pick overripe, wormy, old, as well as those that grow near populated areas, highways, and railways.

In addition, do not buy fresh, dried, salted, pickled, or canned mushrooms from strangers and in places of unauthorized trade. Do not forget that some edible mushrooms, for example, honey mushrooms (Armillariella mellea) and russules, have poisonous counterparts looking similar.

Mushrooms must be processed on the same day when they are picked: it’s necessary to soak mushrooms and then to boil them. During the processing of mushrooms, toxic substances are removed from them, and culinary dishes can be cooked using mushrooms only after this pre-treatment.

You should not treat children under 14 years old to mushrooms, because the child’s body does not yet have the necessary quantity of enzymes to digest them, the regional Rospotrebnadzor (Russian Federal State Agency for Health and Consumer Rights) warns.

According to Elena Averianova, biologist and member of the Sochi Geographical Society’s Scientific Council, there are a lot of mushrooms in the Caucasus, and the forests of the Black Sea coast are a ‘mushroom paradise’.

- Sochi has a humid climate, and Gelendzhik’s climate is drier, but there are plenty of mushrooms everywhere, and many poisonous ones. It happens that people get ‘carried away’ and pick all the mushrooms they see, confusing them with edible ones. Such mistakes result in getting to a hospital. Competent mushroom pickers do not make mistakes. Those who go to the forest for mushrooming should remember that the mushroom variety is great and when they see any difference with familiar mushrooms, it is better not to pick such mushrooms. In addition, do not forget that some mushrooms are listed in the Red Data Book, such as Clavariadélphus pistilláris (commonly known as the Common club coral) Clavariadelphus pistillate, Sparassis crispa (sometimes called cauliflower fungus), Clathrus ruber (Red cage or lattice fungus), Pseudocolus fusiformis, Herícium coralloídes, Amanita ovoidea, Volvariella bombycina, Boletus rhodoxanthus, Cortinarius odoratus, Cortinarius sulfurinus, Amanita caesarea (Caesar’s angel), Usnea florida, and Lobaria pulmonaria. Fortunately, mushroom pickers do not gather them due to their appearance.

Speaking about the mushrooms that poisoned the Gelendzhik residents, biologist Elena Averianova noted that butter mushrooms and milk mushrooms have almost never grown in Sochi, and people need to be cautious with russulas. They come in several types: pink ones have a hot taste. The most favorite mushrooms are porcini (Boletus edulis) that are called the ‘king of mushrooms’, or edible boletus.

The expert emphasized that people should pick fresh and elastic mushroom and in no case pick wormy mushrooms. It is worth remembering: mushrooms are more often affected by special flies - mushroom mosquitoes in summer, so the chance of picking high-quality mushrooms is better in autumn. When people are not confident in their knowledge, they’d better consult experienced mushroom pickers whom they trust, or refuse to eat such mushrooms picked in the forest.

- There are still mushrooms in Sochi, and after a short break in the spring, oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus) and Jew’s ear mushroom (Hirneola auricula-judae) can be picked. There are especially many mushrooms in the Matsesta microdistrict (estate). I conduct mushroom excursions and I explain what mushrooms are edible and even medicinal. I have been collecting mushrooms since childhood, and in recent years, I have been studying them in depth. Now, I can identify 150 species, - noted tour guide Alina Temnova.

The route is of medium difficulty due to the mountainous terrain and is not designed for children, so only adults over 18 can join a mushrooming tour. The guide conducts hiking in the forest for tourists using trekking poles, and provides them with shoe covers for fording the river.

For safety, Alina Temnova gives instructions, carries out tick and mosquito repellent treatments, and gives whistles to avoid unexpected encounters with wild animals and for exchanging signals in the forest not to lose each other. There is also a hand flare and a first aid kit. Such a useful hike lasting from four to seven hours normally costs a thousand rubles.