Overview
- The Food Safety Information Council issued its annual caution on Monday, urging people not to forage and to buy mushrooms only from reputable retailers.
- Authorities report increased fruiting in Canberra and across eastern states, with confirmed presence around Melbourne, Adelaide, New South Wales and Tasmania.
- Officials advise residents to check yards, parks and sports fields and to remove suspect fungi by placing them in a plastic bag and disposing in household garbage, not compost, while avoiding skin contact.
- If ingestion is suspected, people should call Triple-0 and the Poisons Information Centre on 13 11 26 or go straight to an emergency department, as symptoms typically appear 10–16 hours later and cooking or freezing does not make deathcaps safe.
- Experts warn the toxin in a single mushroom can kill a healthy adult, children and pets are at high risk, the species arrived on imported oak roots and is established, and a 2023 Victoria poisoning case underscores the danger.