Dangers of Eating Beefsteak False Morels

You may have heard people claim that they eat Beefsteak False morels with no side effects. That’s because the poisonous chemical MMH (also found in rocket fuel) may occur in different concentrations in different False morels, its presence may vary due to geographical location, its affect may vary amongst individuals, and its toxicity may be cumulative.  Dr. Michael Kuo is an English teacher and amateur mycologist in Illinios who developed the web site www.MushroomExpert.Com. He says this raises “. . .the possibility of eating False morels safely for years and then, one day, croaking after one bite.”

In May 2002 an 8-year-old girl from Cheboygan, Michigan, enjoyed some Beefsteak mushrooms that some friends had given her family. After eating them, her face turned yellow and she became extremely nauseated. Her mother rushed her to the doctor, who sent her to the emergency room. She became very combative, and doctors detected high levels of ammonia in her brain, which forced her liver to begin to shut down. They were concerned that it would also induce failure of other vital bodily functions, such as breathing. They called in a specialist, who diagnosed liver failure. She had to be flown to a pediatric intensive care unit in Ann Arbor, where doctors administered a diuretic that caused the stomach to absorb the poison and flush it through her system; in the meantime, they prepped her for a liver transplant. Miraculously, the medication helped the girl undergo a complete turnaround.

As Michael says, “. . .no person in his or her right mind should knowingly eat a False morel.”

Here are four easy ways to avoid a near-death mushroom eating experience:

1) When in doubt, throw it out!

If you’re not 110 percent absolutely, definitely, undeniably sure that’s it’s a morel, chuck that sucker! It’s easier to throw out a mushroom than to die from eating it.

If you slice a True morel in half lengthwise, it is hollow. If you slice a False morel in half, it contains flesh or a cotton-like substance (and maybe a few air pockets.)

3) If it’s wavy, don’t make it gravy!
False morel caps are usually wavy--not pitted, like True morels.