Polish health authorities warn against mushroom-picking in flood-hit areas

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Poland’s Chief Sanitary Inspectorate (GIS) has advised against picking mushrooms in areas affected by the floods that devastated parts of the country last month. It warns that fungi in those areas could have absorbed pollutants carried by the flood waters that would be harmful if consumed.

“It is not recommended to collect and eat mushrooms growing in areas affected by flooding, as the flood wave carried various pollutants – for example, heavy metals – that are easily absorbed by these organisms,” said GIS spokesman Marek Waszczewski, quoted by the Polish Press Agency (PAP).

Mushroom picking is hugely popular in Poland around this time of year. In its latest statement, GIS also urges people not to pick unknown mushrooms and notes that, if they are in any doubt, they can consult experts for free at local sanitary-epidemiological stations. GIS has published a list of such stations on its website.

Poland, along with other countries in the region, was hit by devastating floods last month. The surging waters can collect various harmful substances, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, fuel residues and heavy metals.  Even after the water has subsided, pollutants remain in the soil and in some organisms.

Marta Wrzosek, a mushroom expert at the University of Warsaw, has likewise advised mushroom pickers to “particularly avoid areas around cities or towns where petrol stations, flooded cars or warehouses with chemical compounds have been damaged” during the floods.

“These health-hazardous compounds have most likely not decomposed and are absorbed by fungi,” she told science news service Nauka w Polsce.

The mycologist said that it is difficult to determine how long the risk of contamination will last, noting that in the coming months it will be necessary to check for the content of metals and other compounds in the soil before harvesting mushrooms or plants from flood-hit areas.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Michał Robak / Pexels 

Alicja Ptak

Alicja Ptak is senior editor at Notes from Poland and a multimedia journalist. She previously worked for Reuters.