Fact: Evidence of being eaten is not a sign you can trust. 

Animals often react quite differently to toxins than humans. A feast for a slug can be fatal for us.

Slugs and snails will nibble their way through the green amanita (Amanita phalloides) with apparently little effect whereas the amatoxins these mushrooms contain destroy liver cells in humans.

Fact: That would be nice. Unfortunately, cooking doesn’t destroy all toxins or make mushrooms safe.
 
It’s true that some edible mushrooms are better tolerated after sufficient heating. This is why VAPKO (the Swiss association of official mushroom control bodies) also recommends not eating raw mushrooms. However, the really nasty mushroom toxins like amatoxin are extremely stable and cannot be neutralised either by boiling, frying, drying, pickling or deep-freezing. 

Fact: The altitude or tree line offer no protection against poisoning. 

Old books about mushrooms often state that amanita (also known as death cap) do not grow in alpine regions at high altitude. But with climate change, trees and mushrooms are increasingly spreading to higher elevations. What’s more, amatoxin isn’t exclusive to death caps and can also be found in other types of mushroom such as the Funeral Bell (Galerina sp.) and Lepiota species.

Fact: Our sense of taste does not have an inbuilt toxin sensor.

Lots of dangerous mushrooms have a mild, nutty taste and are absolutely delicious. The rule of thumb that tangy specimens are inedible may apply to certain species – such as specific russulas – but it definitely doesn’t apply to other fungi families.  

Even callers with symptoms of poisoning often report that they hadn’t noticed any peculiar taste.

Fact: This is simply wishful thinking. Chemically and biologically invalid and an absolute fallacy.

The belief that a silver spoon will tarnish if dipped in the pan or onions will turn black if cooked with poisonous mushrooms is a persistent misconception that extends beyond country borders. However, there are no simple tests using chemical reactions to distinguish between ‘poisonous or non-poisonous’.