Mushroom poisoning regularly claims human lives in Meghalaya but beyond the initial shock there follows a calm acceptance. The Agriculture Department which has the wherewithal to create public awareness about which mushrooms are edible and which are poisonous has failed to do so. The Department should have come up with pamphlets and literature showing mushrooms that are endemic to Meghalaya and which of those must be avoided. Mushroom poisoning is usually the result of ingestion of wild mushrooms after misidentification of a toxic mushroom as an edible species. The most common reason for this misidentification is close resemblance in terms of colour and general morphology of the of the toxic mushrooms species with edible species.
Almost all tribes of the North East know their mushrooms and with the onset of spring and early monsoon after the first few showers, all kinds of mushrooms spring up in the forests. Some of them are very delicious; much more delicious than those grown under controlled conditions. It is not so much that people know the nutritional value of mushrooms as the fact that it adds taste to their food. For most village folks, mushrooms are a delicacy and a change from the usual boring menu. They cannot afford the cultivated variety which costs Rs 300 or more a kilogram. But little do they suspect that this harmless looking food would take their lives. However, telling people to stay away from mushrooms is equally futile. Hence the importance of educating them about the types of edible mushrooms! In addition, the edibility of mushrooms may depend on methods of preparation for cooking. Collectors also need to be well aware that edibility or toxicity of some species varies with geographic location.
While there are quite a variety of poisonous mushrooms, not all can cause death, although delay in reaching a hospital could be fatal. In Meghalaya the distance between villages and a health sub-centre and the non-availability of a doctor or an anti-venom medicine/injection could often be the cause of death than anything else. It is imperative that Government comes up with a pamphlet listing the poisonous mushrooms and also educating people on first aid measures, should they experience mushroom poisoning.
