# Mushroom Food Poisoning Worse than Other Types? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769 "2003-04-06T00:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Joyfulgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@Joyfulgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joyfulgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/1 "2003-04-06T00:30:59Z")
Ok, I tried searching but found nothing, both on Google and the Dope. First of all, this is not a question about poisonous types of mushrooms. We’re talking about your ordinary garden-variety grocery store mushrooms. My mother is convinced that mushrooms can kill you faster than anything else on this Earth. From childhood, I have been told, for health reasons, that- 1. Mushrooms must be cooked and peeled. I can see the reasoning behind this, as you never know what they’ve been grown in. This may be overly cautious, but it has some basis in fact. Then she tells me that… 2. Mushrooms must never be left in water for more than 5 minutes. Any water that has had mushrooms or bits of mushrooms in it is toxic. Mushrooms should never be left in the sink, or put down the garbage disposal or you will get sick and maybe die, and why don’t you ever listen to your mother? 3. After an hour sitting out, mushrooms are toxic. If they are left out for more than 3 hours, even reheating them will not keep you from getting sick, as they attain super-powers. Your cousin’s husband’s sister almost died by eating meatloaf with mushrooms in it left out for 2 days. 4. Unlike other foods, mushrooms left out and then eaten do not just give you food poisoning, they will kill you. Food poisoning from mushrooms is much worse than other types, and can do immense harm. Obviously alot of this is untrue, especially the part about my cousin’s husband’s sister, but I’m not sure about #'s 2 and 4. Is food poisoning from mushrooms much more dangerous than other types? How long can they be left out before becoming dangerous? What is it about water that makes mushrooms deadly? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/2 "2003-04-06T00:38:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joyfulgirl \* > \*\*1. Mushrooms must be cooked and peeled. \*\* This isn’t true, for a start. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/3 "2003-04-06T00:43:31Z")
Actually, on further reading, it is all pretty inaccurate; mushrooms are quite a good growth medium for bacteria (largely because of their water content), but not nearly as good as raw chicken. Water that has had mushrooms in it is called ‘stock’ in my household and it is far from toxic. I’m a little confused about the idea of mushrooms being ‘left out’ - I ate some excellent field mushrooms last autumn, they had been ‘left out’ in an open field for a day or two. (contrary to popular belief, mushrooms, although they can be very fast-growing, usually take a couple of days to grow to worthwhile size.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/4 "2003-04-06T00:47:09Z")
…however, mushrooms generally should not be left in water (or washed, for that matter) as they are rather absorbent. Certainly for many wild mushrooms like Ceps and Chantarelles, washing them will ruin the texture. Of course, if you’re making soup, then you ptretty much have to put them in water, but you’d probably sautee them first. Sorry for the fragmentary nature of my reply. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/5 "2003-04-06T01:06:03Z")
Most of what your mother taught you is pure banana oil. 1.[ul]Commercially raised mushrooms are grown in near-sterile conditions. Mycological cultures are _extremely_ susceptible to invasion by other molds and fungi. Although you will always hear how mushrooms are grown in steer manure, that manure is first _sterizilzed completely_ to avoid other invasive cultures from ruining the crop.[/ul]2. [ul]If the water a mushroom has soaked in becomes toxic, then so is the mushroom. Since all commercially distributed mushrooms that you will see in grocery stores are not toxic, raw _or_ cooked, then the water they are soaked in _cannot_ become toxic. Besides, you _never_ soak mushrooms as this destroys their texture. This does not apply to wild mushrooms gathered in the field. However, that is an entirely different matter. Your mother’s misperceptions may be based on certain practices and precautions surrounding wild mushrooms.[/ul]3. [ul]Mushrooms are grown in an environment that is carefully kept near room temperature. Exposure of _picked_ mushrooms to these same temperatures cannot possibly cause toxins to spontaneously manifest. Your relative was poisoned by meat that had spoiled due to improper storage. I could bake a meatloaf right now and leave it tightly covered on my counter and it would be perfectly safe to eat two days later. High temperature cooking sterilizes _most_ bacteria contained in food.[/ul]4. [ul]How then, do you explain all the dried mushrooms they sell in markets around the world? They are _left out_ for an incredibly extended period of time in order to dehydrate them. This has been done for _thousands of years_ and is an accepted food practice. You are confusing the highly toxic nature of toadstools and other poisonous mushrooms with what you are calling “food poisoning from mushrooms.”[/ul] The level of food related ignorance your mother is exhibiting nears excruciating proportions. Stupidity should be painful. ---
**Author:** ![SmokinSpartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmokinSpartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmokinSpartan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/6 "2003-04-06T01:29:43Z")
azurenscens are my fav. yummy! ---
**Author:** ![Joyfulgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f04885/32.png) [@Joyfulgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joyfulgirl)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/7 "2003-04-06T01:30:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\* \Your relative was poisoned by meat that had spoiled due to improper storage. \ \*\* Actually, they weren’t. That was just a scare tactic. 🙂 Experience tells me that most of what she said was untrue. I eat raw mushrooms all the time without peeling, have actually used mushroom stock and dried mushrooms, etc. But the food poisoning and inability to reheat cooked mushrooms are what I was really wondering about. Now that that’s cleared up, I can go eat the stir-fry I made last night without fear. She’s actually a lovely mother and pretty smart, but she “used to be a nurse”, which just means that she’s forgotten everything she’s ever learned about safety, but not the paranoia. I’m still wondering where the garbage disposal and mushrooms = sure death thing came from. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/8 "2003-04-06T01:32:23Z")
I’m dead. ---
**Author:** ![S\_or\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@S\_or\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/S_or_L)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/9 "2003-04-06T03:12:00Z")
The main problem with mushrooms is that some people like to pick them in the wild, and every year this city has one or two who get kidney failure. Always the same story “Not only have I had experience and training, I’ve been doing this for years in the same patch in the woods and never had a problem.” But _all_ the poisonings are from people who are sure they know what they’re doing, or their poor trusting children who were told to eat up. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/10 "2003-04-06T11:35:23Z")
Just a couple additional points. First of all, not all mushroom are grown in manure. Personally, what the 'shroom grew up in has never been a major worry for me, but if it freaks you out, you might find it reassuring that shiitakes are grown on oak logs, not animal waste products. Second, although some mushrooms may not be toxic raw, they may be indigestable or cause indigestion. The common white and crimini (portabella) mushrooms don’t fall into this category, but some others do. These latter ones are not generally found in the supermarket so it’s usually a situation where you can ask the seller about proper preparation. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/11 "2003-04-06T20:24:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Broomstick \* > \*\*… shiitakes are grown on oak logs, not animal waste products. > \*\* There goes my theory re: word origin. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@Hermann\_Cheruscan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermann_Cheruscan)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mushroom-food-poisoning-worse-than-other-types/166769/12 "2003-04-06T23:06:13Z")
I thought that eating poison mushrooms caused liver failure, not kidney failure. Besides that, I love the hell out of mushrooms!