Mycophilic or Mycophobic? Legislation and Guidelines on Wild Mushroom Commerce Reveal Different Consumption Behaviour in European Countries

Abstract

Mycophiles forage for and pick vast quantities of a wide variety of wild mushroom species. As a result, mushroom intoxications are comparatively frequent in such countries with mycophiles. Thus, national governments are forced to release guidelines or enact legislation in order to ensure the safe commerce of wild mushrooms due to food safety concerns. It is in these guidelines and laws that one can observe whether a country is indeed mycophobic or mycophilic. Furthermore, these laws and guidelines provide valuable information on mushroom preferences and on the consumption habits of each country. As such we were interested in the questions as to whether mushroom consumption behaviour was different within Europe, and if it was possible to discover the typical or distinctive culinary preferences of Slavic or Romanic speaking people, people from special geographical regions or from different zones. This work is based on the analysis of edible mushroom lists available in specific guidelines or legislation related to the consumption and commerce of mushrooms in 27 European countries. The overall diversity of edible mushrooms authorised to be commercialised in Europe is very high. However, only 60 out of a total 268 fungal species can be cultivated. This highlights the importance of guidelines or legislation for the safe commerce of wild mushrooms. The species richness and composition of the mushrooms listed for commerce is very heterogeneous within Europe. The consumption behaviour is not only language-family-related, but is strongly influenced by geographical location and neighbouring countries. Indicator species were detected for different European regions; most of them are widespread fungi, and thus prove culture-specific preferences for these mushrooms. Our results highlight tradition and external input such as trade and cultural exchange as strong factors shaping mushroom consumption behaviour.

Influence of Climate and Economic Variables on the Aggregated Supply of a Wild Edible Fungi (Lactarius deliciosus)

“…In this work we have attempted to define a supply model for one of the five top-selling edible wild mushrooms [5], using as a starting point information that is generated not at a local level, but at a central market level. In different parts of the world, edible mycorrhizal fungi such as the saffron milk cap are being increasingly cultivated in suitable plantation forests [48]; however, the data in this study were not directly obtained from these kinds of forest systems.…”

Mushroom Emergence Detected by Combining Spore Trapping with Molecular Techniques

“…Up to 268 fungal taxa have been authorized to be commercialized in Europe (2), of which the most important marketed mushrooms are Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, Lactarius deliciosus, Morchella esculenta, and Agaricus campestris (2,3). Spain, the Netherlands, France, and Poland are the largest mushroom producers in Europe (2).…”

“…Up to 268 fungal taxa have been authorized to be commercialized in Europe (2), of which the most important marketed mushrooms are Boletus edulis, Cantharellus cibarius, Lactarius deliciosus, Morchella esculenta, and Agaricus campestris (2,3). Spain, the Netherlands, France, and Poland are the largest mushroom producers in Europe (2). Despite the increasing interest and importance of mushrooms as nonwood forest products, mushroom production has only recently been included as a target in forest management and planning alongside the traditional goal of wood production (4).…”

Conservation and trade of wild edible mushrooms of Serbia – history, state of the art and perspectives

“…Serbia is located in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, a region not geologically old, but with a geographic position and geologic, topographic and climatic diversity that have produced an environment conducive to very high biodiversity rates at species, community and ecosystem levels (Stevanović et al 1995, Myers 1999, Figure 1). The northern part -province Vojvodina belongs to the flat Pannonian Basin with a typical semi-arid continental climate.…”

“…This group, often called macro-fungi, includes all species that produce sporocarps larger than 1 mm. Through human evolution, fungal species that produced edible sporocarps may have served as a good source of food in the specific times of the temperate seasons (as in Europe) -they could be gathered for immediate consumption or dried and preserved for cold seasons when nutrient rich food was scarce (Peintner et al 2013, Heilmann-Clausen et al 2015. Once, gathering of mushrooms was a necessity, now it is a relaxing hobby or a good business, depending on the country's resources and socio-economic status.…”