To the Editor Let us pick mushrooms carefully

IT is very sad to hear that many people in Zimbabwe have so far died this rainy season as a result of poisonous mushrooms. This is not only happening in Zimbabwe but the world over.

The country was recently shocked by the news coming from Mberengwa that 11 members from the same family perished after they had eaten poisonous mushrooms. It is very impossible to distinguish between edible and toxic species. I was really shocked to hear that even most popular mushrooms like nhedzi were also found to be poisonous.

I urge people to desist from eating any mushrooms this year since it has already been proven that almost all of them are poisonous. Some families are known for buying mushrooms from roadside vendors which is very dangerous since no one knows where these mushrooms would be picked from.

In Zimbabwe we have plenty of registered mushroom growers so it is very advisable to buy them from leading supermarkets because it now looks like consumption of these mushrooms is now a gamble since you will not be sure whether they are poisonous or not. Experienced mushroom pickers have also died after eating them so as Zimbabweans let us be very careful when eating them because almost every year we are losing our people as a result of these poisonous mushrooms.

It was also discovered that even edible mushrooms can also be poisonous due to ecological peculiarities, a case in point being the presence of eucalyptus trees that are believed to increase the level of toxins. Also some industrial pollutants like heavy metals and radiation can concentrate toxins in known edible species so people should always be very careful.

It is better to pick known mushrooms near your homes and adults should do the picking instead of sending their children because these minors have no knowledge about which ones are good or bad. Once edible mushrooms are mixed with the wrong ones then all of them become poisonous and can wipe out the whole family. I also encourage our adults to thoroughly cook these mushrooms first before eating and after eating them when they feel that something is not right in their bodies they must rush to the nearest clinic or hospital without wasting any time because the poison can damage vital organs within a very short space of time.

I think if we cannot afford to buy them from registered supermarkets it’s better to avoid eating them to save lives because it is so painful to lose our relatives every year as a result of these poisonous and dangerous mushrooms. Eddious Masundire Shumba, Waterford, Bulawayo.