Food administration warns against wild mushrooms

The country's top food administration has warned against the consumption of wild mushrooms in the wake of several food poisoning cases involving toxic mushrooms since July.

Restaurants nationwide should avoid buying and serving wild mushrooms and consumers should not pluck or eat wild mushrooms due to the lack of effective measures to detect toxic mushrooms, the State Food and Drug Administration said in a statement on August 3.

The statement came in the wake of a string of food poisoning incidents in the Hanzhong city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province. Since July, more than 50 people have been poisoned by toxic mushrooms in the city and seven people died, China National Radio reported on August 3.

The top food administration also called on local supervision authorities in areas where plucking of wild mushrooms is popular to intensify efforts to warn the public.

Mushrooms are popular in the summer but the only effective measure to avoid food poisoning caused by toxic mushrooms is to avoid eating them, the authority said.