Scientists from the Medical University of Bialystok in cooperation with the University of Bialystok and the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute in Bialystok decided to examine the content of toxic elements in dried mushrooms, assess the safety related to their consumption, and determine whether the relevant law should be improved. The Polish law lacks the established maximum permissible level of toxic element in wild mushrooms.
Mushrooms in Polish cuisine have been appreciated for many years. They contain many valuable ingredients, such as proteins with a particularly advantageous amino acid composition, polysaccharides, dietary fiber, B vitamins, macro- and microelements. On the other hand, mushrooms are characterized by a high accumulation capacity of pollutants, including toxic elements such as cadmium, lead, arsenic and mercury.
The conducted research showed that the consumption of dried mushrooms is, in most cases, safe in terms of the content of toxic elements, the maximum permissible content was exceeded in individual samples. Similarly, when converting the obtained results into a standard portion of dried mushrooms, the risk of negative health effects occurred in only some of the studied samples. We should also be aware that dried mushroom dishes are not consumed every day and the consumers are mainly adults, possibly greater negative health effects could occur in the case of consumption by children.
The obtained results indicate that dried mushrooms should be monitored in terms of the content of toxic elements.
The research team consists of the Medical University of Bialystok: dr hab. Karolina Orywal, prof. dr hab. Barbara Mroczko, dr hab. Katarzyna Socha and mgr Patryk Nowakowski, from the Faculty of Law of the University of Białystok: prof. dr hab. Maciej Perkowski and Wojciech Zoń, MA, from the Institute of Plant Protection - National Research Institute in Białystok: prof. dr hab. Bożena Łozowicka and dr hab. Piotr Kaczyński.