Food claiming to have 'wild mushrooms' rarely does, study finds
DNA barcoding revealed products mostly contain cultivated fungi, and a
few poisonous mushrooms

Date:
August 24, 2021
Source:
University of Utah
Summary:
Harvesting wild mushrooms requires an expert eye to distinguish
between the delicious and the poisonous, which makes products with
truly wild mushrooms expensive. However, due to minimal regulations
around the harvest and sale of wild fungi, it's nearly impossible
to know what mushroom species are included in the product. A new
study used DNA barcoding to show that 16 food products labeled
with wild mushrooms mostly contained cultivated fungi and a few
poisonous mushrooms.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Harvesting wild mushrooms requires an expert eye to distinguish between
the delicious and the inedible. Misidentification can have a range of consequences, from a disgusting taste and mild illness to organ failure
and even death.

Culinary wild mushrooms staples, such as truffles or porcini, require
symbiotic relationships with specific plants in the ecosystem that make
it impractical or impossible to produce them commercially. This means
they can only be harvested from their natural habitat, which is why
porcini and truffles are often so expensive. Many food producers opt for
common fungi that can be cultivated easily and grown in large quantities,
such as oyster, shiitake, and portabella mushrooms.


==========================================================================
The United States has minimal regulations around the harvest and sale
of wild fungi. Food products that tout "wild mushrooms" as ingredients
are often vague and non-specific, making it impossible to know if the
products are truly wild or just cultivated varieties, or even if they
contain poisonous mushrooms harmful to humans.

In a new study, researchers from the University of Utah (U) and the
Natural History Museum of Utah (NHMU) used DNA barcoding techniques to
test what mushroom species made up 16 food products that listed "wild mushrooms" on their labels. The authors sourced soups, dried mushrooms, powdered mushrooms, pasta sauces, and flavor enhancers from local grocery stores around Salt Lake City, Utah, and a large online retailer.

They found 28 species of mushrooms across all 16 food products. Almost
all products that claimed to have wild mushrooms consisted of cultivated species, including oyster, shiitake, or portabella mushrooms. Only five products had contents that were accurately described on the label, and
some included species that likely have yet to be described in academic literature. One packet of dried wild mushrooms from the online retailer contained a species from a group of fungi that includes the "Death Cap,"
a notoriously poisonous mushroom known to cause renal failure in humans.

"If you looked at the reviews on this product, a surprising number of
people wrote that the mushrooms 'made me violently ill,' or that they had 'never been so sick in my life,'" said Dalley Cutler, lead author of the
paper and a recent biology graduate at the U. "No one is checking if the mushrooms are what the labels say they are." The authors contacted the
online retailer to inform them of the potential dangers of the product. As
of the paper's publication, the dried mushrooms are still for sale. The mislabeling across the wide range of products could be due of fraud, negligence, or just a lack of awareness.



========================================================================== "There's an ignorance about mushrooms in general -- in food products,
museum collections, the definition for wild mushrooms are all over the
place," said Alexander Bradshaw, co-author of the study and doctoral
student at the U."One package of dried mushrooms said it contained
porcini, defined by a characteristic spongy texture underneath the
cap. Just by looking at it, we knew it was untrue -- the mushrooms had
gills underneath their caps. It seems like if you can dry it down, you
can just slap a porcini label on it." The authors say their results
are inevitable partly because policies that regulate the international
food supply chain vary wildly. Some parts of Europe require a license
to collect edible wild mushrooms, but the guidelines differ between
countries. In the U.S., state governments are responsible for regulating commercial wild mushrooms sales, but only 31 states have any regulations
at all, according to a National Survey of State Regulation of Wild
Mushroom Foraging for Retail Sale.

Another reason for inconsistencies is because the field of mycology is
vastly understudied.

"About 95% of fungal species on Earth are undescribed. Fungi are so poorly documented, how do you regulate something that is virtually unknown?" said
Bryn Dentinger, senior author of the paper, curator of mycology at the
Natural History Museum of Utah, and associate professor of biology at
the U. "This puts human health at risk, but it also puts our ecosystems
at risk. Around the world, unsustainable harvesting practices could put
rare and threatened species at risk of extinction." There are still
safe ways to enjoy wild mushrooms, the researchers say. Just know who
you're buying from.

"I don't want people to read this and be scared to eat porcini and other
wild edible mushrooms, they are delicious," said Dalley. "This study
looked only at packaged products, not locally harvested wild mushrooms. I
would encourage people that enjoy porcini and other wild edibles to only purchase from local sellers that are qualified in the identification of
wild mushrooms." The study published online in the journal Peer J Life & Environmenton August 2, 2021.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Utah. Original written
by Lisa Potter.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. W. Dalley Cutler II, Alexander J. Bradshaw, Bryn
T.M. Dentinger. What's
for dinner this time?: DNA authentication of 'wild mushrooms'
in food products sold in the USA. PeerJ, 2021; 9: e11747 DOI:
10.7717/peerj.11747 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210824104125.htm

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