Health inspection staff teach you eight ways to identify poisonous mushrooms:
1. Look at the growing area. Edible and non-poisonous mushrooms mostly grow in clean grasslands or on pine and oak trees, while poisonous mushrooms often grow in dark, damp, and dirty areas.
2. Look at the color. The caps of poisonous mushrooms are brightly colored, with colors like red, green, jet black, and blue-violet. In particular, purple ones are often highly toxic and tend to change color after being picked.
3. Look at the shape. The caps of non-poisonous mushrooms are relatively flat with smooth surfaces, no rings on the cap, and no volva at the base. Poisonous mushrooms have a convex center to the cap, a strange shape, a thick and hard cap, rings on the stem, and a long or thick, easily breakable stem with a volva.
4. Look at the secretions. Break the stem of a freshly picked wild mushroom. The secretion from a non-poisonous one is clear like water (occasionally white), and the cap does not change color after being broken. The secretion from a poisonous one is thick and dark reddish-brown, and it changes color easily when exposed to the air after being broken.
5. Smell the odor. Non-poisonous mushrooms have a special fragrance, while poisonous mushrooms have a strange odor, such as spicy, astringent, or foul-smell.
6. The onion test. When picking wild mushrooms, you can wipe the cap with a piece of green onion. If the onion turns bluish-brown, it is poisonous. If it does not change color, it is non-poisonous.
7. The cooking test. When cooking wild mushrooms, add a few cloves of garlic or some grains of rice. If the garlic or rice changes color after the mushrooms are cooked, they are poisonous. If they remain their original color, they are non-poisonous.
8. Chemical identification. Take a suspicious mushroom that you have collected or bought, extract its juice, and use it to wet a piece of paper. Immediately add a drop of dilute hydrochloric acid or white vinegar to it. If the paper turns red or blue, the mushroom is poisonous.
Citizens can contact the health inspection agency if they have any questions regarding food hygiene.