Health and Medical

Health Advisory alert 

Health Advisory alert - Poisonous mushrooms growing in Victoria

Date issued:  5 April 2024 (update to advisory issued 12 April 2023

Issued by: Dr Evelyn Wong, Acting Chief Health Officer

Key messages

• Poisonous mushrooms including death cap mushrooms and yellow-staining mushrooms occur in Victoria during autumn as the weather becomes wetter and cooler.
• Consuming a death cap mushroom may result in death.
• Cooking, peeling or drying these mushrooms does not remove or inactivate the poison.
• There is no home test available to distinguish safe and edible mushrooms from poisonous mushrooms.
• Mushrooms purchased from a supermarket, greengrocer or other reputable source are safe to eat.
• Remove any mushrooms growing in home gardens as young children and pets can easily eat them.

Read the full advisory at: Poisonous mushrooms growing in Victoria

We ask that you have conversations with your child/ren about not picking or eating mushrooms in the wild/backyards/school grounds/parks etc. there are thousands of species of fungi and we are not experts on what is poisonous and what is safe.