The NSW Poisons Information Centre reports a sharp spike in ED presentations with mushroom poisoning

From 29 April to 19 May this year, 14 people presented to a NSW emergency department with wild mushroom poisoning, according to the NSW Poisons Information Centre.

They also received 56 calls regarding mushroom exposures and 37 cases were related to foraging for mushrooms.

NSW Poisons Information Centre's Genevieve Adamo said many wild mushrooms can cause serious poisoning, such as the Death Cap mushroom, which can lead to fatal organ damage if eaten.

Local chef Scott Clapham is an avid mushroom forager and loves the serenity that comes with wandering the forest.

Mr Clapham regularly frequents the forests around Tumut and Tumbarumba in NSW's Riverina region, searching for mushrooms each year.

He comes home with kilos each season and cooks, pickles and confits his woody haul, but he will only choose the fungi if he is sure of the species.

"I've got books for reference and guides, I do a lot of research online ... you've got to be really careful with your backyard stuff," he said. "If you're unsure, leave it alone."

Diego Bonetto is a wild foraging guide with more than 20 years' experience based in Lithgow in the state's Central Tablelands and he runs guided foraging tours across NSW.

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The number of people foraging has grown in recent years, he said, as people look to reconnect with the land and old ways of doing things in uncertain times.

"There's been an uptake in all sorts of foraging," he said. "I teach seaside foraging, foraging for weeds, foraging for mushrooms. It's a big field with a growing interest."

Mr Bonetto said that foraging can be safe, but having the right knowledge is key.

"First of all, only ever forage with someone who knows what they're doing, rather than downloading information from the internet," he said.

Mr Bonetto said that people often make mistakes when trying to snap up mushrooms that look similar to supermarket varieties.

"That's when people get poisoned, when they think they've found something growing in the fields they think it looks the same as the ones in the supermarkets," he said.

But Ms Adamo said that steering clear is the best way to stay safe.

"If not properly identified, mushrooms picked in the wild can make you very ill and could be lethal," she said.

"Cooking or boiling wild mushrooms also does not make them safe to eat, which is why we recommend people to only eat store-bought mushrooms."