Poison death cap mushrooms sold from truck send 3 to hospital, California officials say

Mushrooms sold from a truck in a Salinas parking lot turned out to be poisonous, sending three people to the hospital, California health officials warned.

The mushrooms, which resembled white button mushrooms, were actually death cap mushrooms, Monterey County officials said in a Jan. 3 news release.

Three people who bought and ate the mushrooms went to a Salinas hospital emergency room with “acute hepatotoxicity due to severe mushroom poisoning” on Dec. 31, officials said.

The three were transferred to another hospital.

The patients purchased the mushrooms from a truck in a supermarket parking lot in East Salinas, officials said. The seller may be operating out of multiple locations.

Anyone suffering nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach pain after eating mushrooms should seek emergency medical treatment, officials advised.

Anyone who eats death cap mushrooms may fall ill, then appear to recover, but the poison can then cause liver failure or death, officials said.

Health officials advised people to only buy mushrooms from reputable produce outlets.

Salinas is about a 110-mile drive southeast from San Francisco.

This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 9:25 AM with the headline "Poison death cap mushrooms sold from truck send 3 to hospital, California officials say."