MSU professor shares info to stay safe while foraging after Park County mushroom poisoning

Chance Noffsinger, an assistant mycology professor at Montana State University, provided insight on how people can stay safer while foraging. He said Montana has many mushroom species. Some toxic varieties have very separate and distinct features from those that are edible, but others can be more difficult to distinguish. For example, morel and chanterelle mushrooms have look-alikes that foragers should avoid. 

Along with that, there are also many subtle differences within some varieties, not all of which researchers have identified. 

“There can be varying effects of eating mushrooms within that complex, because we don'tactually know which compounds each individual species can have. And so, for example, you could eat something that you think is safe and you could feel fine and ittastes good. And then the next time, if you eat something similar, that could cause an issue,” Noffsinger said. 

In Montana, there are around six to ten "choice” edible mushrooms foragers search for, and then a select few that are poisonous, he explained. And then there are also mushrooms that taste bad but are technically edible. 

“Somewhere in between those deadly poisonous ones and bad-tasting ones are a series of mushrooms that will also cause minor to severe gastrointestinal upset and things like that,” Noffsinger said. 

Some people are also just sensitive to certain mushrooms, like allergies. 

Foragers who collect mushrooms should treat them like any other produce, meaning they should only pick what looks fresh. 

“Some people get this impression that fungi are always, you know, decomposers or slimy or maybe kind of gross in form. But the reality is, there'sa big differencebetween like, a fresh mushroom and one that's rotting,” he said. 

Mushrooms should also be stored properly in plastic containers, paper bags or wax paper, Noffsinger said. And they should be cooked thoroughly before eating, not just a light sauté. 

“You don't want to collect this mushroom and let it sit in your backpack for an entire day or two before you prepare for the table,” he said. “You want to handle these things similar to how you would handle any meat or vegetable that you want to deal with in the kitchen.” 

Beginner foragers should use a combination of their knowledge of mushroom characteristics, field guides and other experts to help identify them properly. 

MSU has the Schutter Diagnostic Laboratory, where people can send in samples or pictures of fungi, and the lab will help with identification, he said. 

If you are looking for a field guide, Noffsinger said it is best to avoid image-based identification systems. They have a lot of variability and may not be reliable. 

Books and guides produced by my well-researched mushroom experts are the best tools, he said.