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Cooking can decrease mercury contamination of a mushroom meal: Cantharellus cibarius and Amanita fulva
Jerzy Falandysz1, Małgorzata Drewnowska2
1Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Gdańsk University, 63 Wita Stwosza Str, 80-308, Gdańsk, PL, Poland. jerzy.falandysz@ug.edu.pl.
Summary
Blanching mushrooms effectively reduces toxic mercury (Hg) contamination. Pickling offers minimal additional mercury removal from blanched mushrooms, making blanching a recommended pre-culinary step for safer mushroom consumption.
Area of Science:
- Food Science
- Environmental Science
- Mycology
Background:
- Mushrooms like *Cantharellus cibarius* and *Amanita fulva* can accumulate toxic mercury (Hg).
- Understanding mercury removal methods is crucial for food safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of blanching and pickling in removing mercury from *C. cibarius* and *A. fulva* mushrooms.
- To determine the impact of different treatment conditions on mercury leaching.
Main Methods:
- Mushrooms were blanched (parboiled) and/or pickled under various conditions.
- Mercury content was measured before and after treatments to assess leaching rates.
Main Results:
- Blanching fresh *C. cibarius* removed approximately 15% of mercury; deep-frozen mushrooms lost up to 35%.
- Pickling blanched *C. cibarius* had a minor effect on mercury removal, and no effect on blanched *A. fulva*.
- Boiling water extracted 56% of mercury from fresh *A. fulva* caps, more than from *C. cibarius*.
Conclusions:
- Blanching is a simple and effective method for reducing mercury contamination in mushrooms.
- Pickling is not an effective secondary method for further mercury removal from blanched mushrooms.