Don't pick, buy or eat wild mushrooms; no “folk method” of telling safe ones apart works

High value
Evidence A
Buys life
Free
Takes minutes
Some willpower

In plain words

In 2025 alone, China had 828 mushroom poisoning incidents, 2165 people fell ill and 13 died. That same year 34 more species were newly identified as poisonous that had never been recorded as harmful before. Silver needles turning black, “if bugs eat it, it's safe,” “only brightly colored ones are poisonous” — none of these sayings holds up.

Cost: Free. The hard part is giving up a seasonal wild food.
What you get: The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (中国疾控中心) investigated 828 mushroom poisoning incidents in 2025, involving 2165 people, with 13 deaths. The case fatality rate was 0.6%, meaning 0.6% of poisoned people died. From 2019 to 2024 there were 276 to 676 incidents a year, with case fatality rates between 0.87% and 2.86%. In 2025 alone, 138 species of poisonous mushrooms were identified, of which 34 were recorded in China for the first time as causing poisoning.
Notes: If someone has eaten the wrong one, induce vomiting right away, then go to the hospital with the leftover mushrooms or a photo. Mushroom poisoning comes in several types, and identifying which mushroom it was directly decides how the doctor treats it. New species are recorded as poisonous every year, so the premise that “locals know them well” does not hold. Testing with a silver needle, cooking with garlic, “if bugs eat it, it's safe,” and “only brightly colored ones are poisonous” are all wrong.
Evidence grade: A : Specific numbers from meta-analyses, large cohorts or randomized trials; for law and policy, the statute or official text.
Sources: Mushroom Poisoning Outbreaks — China, 2025. China CDC Weekly (2026)：「In 2025, China CDC investigated 828 mushroom poisoning incidents across 27 provincial-level administrative divisions (PLADs), affecting 2,165 individuals and causing 13 deaths - a case fatality rate of 0.6%, the lowest of the past six years. In total, 138 poisonous mushroom species were identified, including 34 newly recorded in poisoning incidents in China.」「From 2019 to 2024, the annual number of incidents ranged from 276 to 676, and the case fatality rate ranged from 0.87% to 2.86%.」https://doi.org/10.46234/ccdcw2026.120
同刊 2024 年度报告 https://doi.org/10.46234/ccdcw2025.106

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 1, tip 5. This section is about health and medicines. It is general information, not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis or prescription. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer