The Australian Mushroom Growers Association (AMGA) has championed the allegation that funghi served at a luncheon that killed three people was purchased from a grocer.
Erin Patterson invited her former in-laws Don and Gail Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather and her Reverend husband Ian to her estate in Victoria’s Gippsland region for a piece of beef Wellington on July 29. It is believed that the meal contained poisonous wild mushrooms.
Don, 70, Gail, 70, and Heather, 66, have since died and Ian is fighting for his life in hospital awaiting a liver transplant.
On Friday, Ms Patterson presented Victoria Police with an affidavit claiming she had bought a packet of dried mushrooms with a handwritten label from an Asian grocer in Mount Waverley, a Melbourne suburb, at least three months before lunchtime.
But the AMGA said on Tuesday that “it is impossible” for dead cap mushrooms and other dangerous varieties to be grown and harvested in commercial activities because they “only grow in the wild.”
The Australian Mushroom Growers Association (AMGA) has alleged that death cap funghi served at a luncheon that killed three people had been purchased from a grocer
Erin Patterson (pictured), who used the mushrooms in a deadly beef wellington, claims she bought the dried mushrooms from an Asian grocer at least three months ago
“AMGA extends its deepest condolences to the families of the people affected by the recent tragedy in Leongatha and the entire Gippsland community,” the statement said.
‘Given the recent attention paid to mushrooms, the AMGA believes it is necessary to inform the public that commercially grown mushrooms produced in Australia are safe and of high quality. If you want safe mushrooms, buy fresh mushrooms grown in Australia.”
The association went on to say mushrooms are “grown indoors in controlled areas with strict hygiene protocols and food safety standards.”
The claims come after Asian grocers in Mount Waverley also vehemently rejected any suggestion that Ms Patterson could have purchased killer mushrooms from their stores.
Daily Mail Australia visited Asian grocers in and around the heart of the suburb’s busy shopping area on Tuesday
Located at Hamilton Place, TK Asian Supermarket is by far the largest and most popular of its kind.
Two shop assistants told Daily Mail Australia they had never heard of anyone getting sick from eating mushrooms they bought from their shop.
One of the shopkeepers said that the mere idea of anyone getting sick from a store-bought dried mushroom seemed “crazy” to him.
The meal killed Gail and Don Patterson, Erin’s former in-laws, and Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, while Mrs. Wilkinson’s husband, Pastor Ian, was left in a serious condition.
‘Yes, dried poisonous mushrooms. I don’t know about that,” he said.
“We have no idea if she bought them here. I saw her on the news, but I can’t really remember.’
The shopkeeper said none of their mushrooms were labeled as Ms Patterson reportedly described her purchase to police.
“She said it was a handwritten white label and we never sold that,” he said.
Around the corner, Daily Mail Australia got similar replies from both the East Mart and the 28 Mart.
East Mart didn’t even sell dried mushrooms, while the retailer — via Google Translate — showed its fridge stocked with only fresh or frozen mushrooms.
28 Mart’s dried mushroom products were all neatly labelled, with that retailer also disputing that poisonous dried mushrooms had been sold in Mount Waverley.
“I sell dried mushrooms, do you want to try?” asked the shopkeeper.
It is not suggested that any of the shops shown sold poisonous mushrooms.
TK Asian Supermarket staff refuted claims that poisonous mushrooms came from Mount Waverley. It is not suggested that any of the shops shown sold poisonous mushrooms
Dried mushrooms sold in the nearby 28 Mart were all clearly labeled. None were white or handwritten
People keep buying dried mushrooms. No warnings have been issued to indicate that this should not be done
The latest health advisories and warnings published by Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, as well as the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recall database, show only one mushroom warning has been listed this year.
That warning related to the recall of Enoki Mushrooms from Natural Mushrooms due to an incorrect best before date of July 13, 2023, ‘increase consumer risk of Listeria infection’.
However, those mushrooms did not have handwritten labels on their packaging.
Ms Patterson has denied any allegations and no charges are expected at this stage of the investigation.
Daily Mail Australia does not suggest that Ms Patterson was responsible for any of the poisonings or deaths.