A recipe for murder !

Yesterday, two people died from poisoning in a leading Sydney hospital.   The cream of Australia's medical science knew exactly what form of poison was circulating in their systems, but were not able to save them.  There simply is no antidote for this poison.

The victims cooked and shared a meal of mushrooms on New Year's eve.   It seems evident that this meal was from what they supposed was " field mushrooms " growing in the Australian Capital Territory.   What they ate were " Death Cap " mushrooms, almost identical in every way to field mushrooms, but fairly common in the ACT in areas that also contain oak trees.   They have also been reported in isolation in Victoria and South Australia.

Identifying the Death Cap mushroom requires specialist knowledge that is beyond the average person.  Long time residents of the ACT are usually aware that this fatal mushroom - considered the most poisonous fungi in the world - grows in their area and take precautions, but there is concern that the influx of tourists, particularly Asians who feature mushrooms in their cooking - will become future victims.

The deaths have attracted media coverage and hopefully this will put people on their guard to be wary of any mushroom growing wild.    Field mushrooms sprout from the ground after summer rain in most parts of Australia, but knowing that there is even a remote possibility that they may be of the Death Cap variety is a very good reason for giving them a miss.   It is better to be sure than sorry - or dead !

Unfortunately, there is another side to this publicity.   We have just informed those with murder in mind that a mushroom exists that is hard to detect, and that if it is eaten by an unwary victim it will bring death within a matter of days with absolute certainty.  We have delivered  a way of retribution for those with a cheating spouse - or the way to hasten a rich relative to a more conveniently timed death.

It is said that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing !    How convenient would it be to make a gift of a delicacy such as supposed field mushrooms to a victim, knowing that intent would be impossible to prove because of the similarity of field mushrooms and Death Caps ?

Obviously, those with enemies would be wise to keep that in mind when planning meals - and receiving gifts !