The county public health department is warning the community to avoid foraging and consuming wild mushrooms.
This is following an issue made by the California department of public health, where a recent outbreak of amatoxin poisoning linked to wild mushrooms with 21 cases was reported statewide on December 5th. Clusters of the mushrooms exist mainly in the Monterey and San Francisco bay areas, but there are some in San Luis Obispo county as well, commonly found near oak, pine, and other hardwood trees.
These mushrooms can be easily mistaken as safe and edible mushrooms due to their appearance and taste, county health officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said. But they remain unsafe for consumption, even after cooking, boiling, drying, or freezing. Borenstein said it is “safest to avoid eating wild mushrooms altogether.” Symptoms may appear within hours of ingestion, and deceptively go away as patients develop serious to fatal liver damage within 2 to 4 days.
