HMTc Category 29 (Edible Fungi), Row 2 — Mushrooms (wild and processed-wild), contaminated side. Re-homed from Cat 4 under the v2.2 matrix-family re-cut (docs/governance/category-4-split-step0-amendment-2, 2026-06-09); fungi are a distinct kingdom, not produce. Wild mushrooms are the cadmium (Cd)/mercury (Hg)/Pb-accumulating side of the pair; cultivated mushrooms (Row 1) are the clean counterpart. Canned and pickled wild mushrooms merge here. No candidate values are derived in this pass.
Reason: ingest of hanc2021-amanita-muscaria-hg-se declared a raw wild mushroom food matrix with no existing product route
Triggering source: Mercury and selenium in developing and mature fruiting bodies of Amanita muscaria
Literature scope
Reported measurements from source notes are below. The contamination profile is still not synthesized, and no certification limit is stated on this page.
Reported measurements
Asensio and colleagues measured wild mushrooms (n=33), mg/kg: cadmium 0.0070 to 0.24, mean 0.063; lead <0.010 to 0.30, mean 0.046; total mercury <0.0050 to 0.97, mean 0.15. Species rows in the note include Lepista (cadmium 0.11, lead 0.024, total mercury 0.97) and Macrolepiota (cadmium 0.24, lead 0.30, total mercury 0.55). Cultivated mushroom rows in that paper are not this product. Study of Heavy Metals and Methyl-Mercury in Fungi in Markets of Madrid
Brzezicha-Cirocka and colleagues report cadmium in mg/kg dry biomass. Leccinum versipelle from the Tarnobrzeska Plain: mean 14 ± 14, median 9.8, range 0.97 to 57. Boletus edulis from the Tarnobrzeska Plain: mean 5.2 ± 4.7, median 2.7, range 0.33 to 18. Boletus edulis from Morag: mean 2.8 ± 2.4, median 2.2, range 0.36 to 10. Xerocomus subtomentosus caps: 9.4 ± 3.6. The note states that 1 mg/kg equals 1000 ug/kg. The figures above stay in mg/kg dry biomass. Bio- and toxic elements in edible wild mushrooms from two regions of potentially different environmental conditions in eastern Poland
Keles and colleagues report 24 species, mg/kg dry weight: nickel 0.95 to 2.86, cadmium 0.05 to 22.57, lead 0.01 to 2.07, manganese 5.34 to 90.64, iron 44.78 to 236.95, zinc 24.81 to 119.03, and copper 11.02 to 174.01. Wild mushrooms from Eastern Black Sea Region (Turkiye): Element concentrations and their health risk assessment
Leskova and colleagues report iron 3.7 to 127.4 mg/kg dry weight. The note’s maximum total element burden is Suillus variegatus at 184.31 mg/kg dry weight, and the minimum is Leccinum aurantiacum at 23.98 mg/kg dry weight. “Total element burden” is the source’s phrase. Lead and cobalt are described as small amounts without a number, so no lead or cobalt concentration is added from that paper. Content of some chemical elements in wild mushrooms of the Transbaikal Territory
Microbiome implications
Wild mushrooms can accumulate mercury and other metals. The direction that matches methylmercury is demethylation by gut microbes, with inorganic mercury leaving preferentially in feces. Lead cohorts, mouse cadmium, and occupational nickel did not use a mushroom meal. A forager’s metal result and a stool study stay separate.
Sitarik et al. 2020 Fetal and early postnatal lead exposure measured in teeth associates with infant gut microbiota measured tooth lead and stool microbiota at 1 month and 6 months in 146 maternal-child pairs in the Detroit-area WHEALS cohort. In utero tooth lead was associated with fungal community composition at 1 month. Lead was not associated with overall bacterial community structure. Taxon-level bacterial shifts were higher Collinsella at 1 month, higher Bilophila at 6 months, and lower Bacteroides. The direction is lead exposure toward microbiota composition. Tooth lead is a biomarker, not a concentration in this product.
Eggers et al. 2023 Prenatal lead exposure is negatively associated with the gut microbiome in childhood, per WikiBiome source summary, DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1193919, followed 123 children in the Mexico City PROGRESS cohort. Maternal blood lead means were 33.6 µg/L in the second trimester and 34.9 µg/L in the third. Stool metagenomes at ages 9 to 11 showed lower Bacteroides caccae with lead exposure. Weighted quantile sum regression gave a negative overall mixture effect (beta = -0.17) in both trimesters. The direction is prenatal lead toward the childhood gut microbiota. The summary does not support a lead concentration in food.
Zhang et al. 2015 Subchronic Exposure of Mice to Cadmium Perturbs Their Hepatic Energy Metabolism and Gut Microbiome, per WikiBiome source summary, DOI 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.5b00237, gave mice 10 mg/L cadmium in drinking water for 10 weeks. Firmicutes and gamma-proteobacteria decreased in feces after 4 weeks, and Firmicutes decreased in cecum contents after 10 weeks. The direction is cadmium toward gut microbiota, alongside hepatic energy-metabolism changes in the same animals. The summary does not name a food.
Coe et al. 2023 Assessing the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Methylmercury Demethylation and Elimination in Humans and Gnotobiotic Mice paired a human cohort with gnotobiotic mice colonized with human microbiota. Gut microbes demethylated a fraction of ingested methylmercury, and the resulting inorganic mercury was preferentially excreted in feces rather than absorbed. Demethylation efficiency varied between people and was associated with taxa that carry mer operon machinery. The direction is gut microbiota toward methylmercury demethylation and elimination. The source page does not print one numeric fraction and does not give a methylmercury concentration in this product.
Yang et al. 2023 Nickel exposure induces gut microbiome disorder and serum uric acid elevation compared 109 occupationally nickel-exposed workers with matched controls. Serum nickel in the exposed group was 5.70 ± 3.21 µg/L, serum uric acid was 355.95 ± 67.87 µmol/L, and uric-acid-lowering bacteria, including Lactobacillus and related taxa, were lower. The direction is occupational nickel toward gut microbiota and then toward a host metabolite. Serum nickel is not a concentration in this product.
Study table
| Study | Model | Metal and dose | Main finding | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sitarik et al. 2020 | Human infants; tooth lead and stool; n = 146 | Lead; tooth biomarker, not a food dose | Fungal composition at 1 month shifted; overall bacterial structure did not | Not this product |
| Eggers et al. 2023 | Human children, ages 9 to 11; n = 123 | Maternal blood lead; means 33.6 and 34.9 µg/L | Lower Bacteroides caccae; mixture beta = -0.17 | Per WikiBiome source summary; not this product |
| Zhang et al. 2015 | Mice; drinking water; 10 weeks | Cadmium; 10 mg/L | Lower fecal Firmicutes and gamma-proteobacteria by 4 weeks | Per WikiBiome source summary; not this product |
| Coe et al. 2023 | Human cohort and gnotobiotic mice | Ingested methylmercury; fraction not printed as one number | Microbiota demethylated methylmercury; inorganic mercury was preferentially fecal | Not a concentration in this product |
| Yang et al. 2023 | Human workers; n = 109 | Serum nickel 5.70 ± 3.21 µg/L in the exposed group | Lower uric-acid-lowering bacteria; higher serum uric acid | Occupational exposure; not this product |
What remains uncertain
Coe and colleagues do not print one demethylated fraction and did not feed wild mushrooms. Several mushroom notes report total mercury without methylmercury, so those rows are not a methylmercury dose. Liu is not in this set unless cited. Occupational serum nickel is not nickel in a carpophore. No study cited here sequenced stool after wild mushrooms.
References
Works cited in this page’s text, in first-appearance order. See Sources for this page’s source inventory. Each title links to a source record with bibliographic details, reported findings, and document provenance.
- Mercury and selenium in developing and mature fruiting bodies of Amanita muscariaPeer-reviewed
- Study of Heavy Metals and Methyl-Mercury in Fungi in Markets of MadridPeer-reviewed
- Bio- and toxic elements in edible wild mushrooms from two regions of potentially different environmental conditions in eastern PolandPeer-reviewed
- Wild mushrooms from Eastern Black Sea Region (Turkiye): Element concentrations and their health risk assessmentPeer-reviewed
- Content of some chemical elements in wild mushrooms of the Transbaikal TerritoryPeer-reviewed
- Fetal and early postnatal lead exposure measured in teeth associates with infant gut microbiotaPeer-reviewed
- Prenatal lead exposure is negatively associated with the gut microbiome in childhoodPeer-reviewed
- Subchronic Exposure of Mice to Cadmium Perturbs Their Hepatic Energy Metabolism and Gut MicrobiomePeer-reviewed
- Assessing the Role of the Gut Microbiome in Methylmercury Demethylation and Elimination in Humans and Gnotobiotic MicePeer-reviewed
- Nickel exposure induces gut microbiome disorder and serum uric acid elevationPeer-reviewed
Sources
Source records associated with this topic. Inclusion does not establish that every finding applies to this product or ingredient. References above identify works cited in the text.
| # | Citation | Year | Type | Used on this page for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leskova et al. 2024. Content of some chemical elements in wild mushrooms of the Transbaikal Territory, Innovations and Food Safety 3(45):75-83 | 2024 | Peer-reviewed | RU Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb occurrence in Wild edible mushrooms collected near Smolenka village, Chita District, Transbaikal Territory, Russia. (n=Six wild edible mushroom species; at least five specimens per species) |
| 2 | Peinador 2023. Study of Heavy Metals and Methyl-Mercury in Fungi in Markets of Madrid, Spectroscopy | 2023 | Peer-reviewed | ES/EU Cd, Pb, tHg, MeHg occurrence in 48 cultivated and wild edible mushroom samples purchased in local markets in Madrid, Spain, with wild samples supplied… (n=48) |
| 3 | Keles et al. 2023. Wild mushrooms from Eastern Black Sea Region (Turkiye): Element concentrations and their health risk assessment, Anatolian Journal of Botany 7(1):50-59 | 2023 | Peer-reviewed | TR Ni, Cd, Pb, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu occurrence in Twenty-four wild edible mushroom species collected from Bayburt, Gumushane, Rize, and Artvin in the Eastern Black Sea Region… (n=24) |
| 4 | Kumar et al. 2022. Lead (Pb) Contamination in Agricultural Products and Human Health Risk Assessment in Bangladesh, Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 233:257 | 2022 | Peer-reviewed | BD Pb occurrence in Published Pb concentration data for commonly consumed agricultural foods and food products in Bangladesh. (n=Literature survey covering three cereals, five pulses, ten fruits, and 34 vegetables/other agricultural food items) |
| 5 | Usman et al. 2022. Proximate composition and heavy metal content of Pleurotus tuberregium mushroom grown on different substrates in (Aba) Nigeria, GSC Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences | 2022 | Peer-reviewed | NG Pb, Cd, Cr occurrence in Pleurotus tuberregium mushrooms grown in four replicates on topsoil, sawdust, riversand, and a riversand-sawdust mixture in Aba, Nigeria. (n=16) |
| 6 | Hanc et al. 2021. Mercury and selenium in developing and mature fruiting bodies of Amanita muscaria, Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 2021 | Peer-reviewed | PL tHg, Se occurrence in Amanita muscaria fruiting bodies collected in six developmental-stage pools from one Pomeranian forest site in Poland in September… (n=181) |
| 7 | Falandysz et al. 2020. Mercury in traditionally foraged species of fungi (macromycetes) from the karst area across Yunnan province in China, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology | 2020 | Peer-reviewed | CN tHg occurrence in Composite samples from 42 traditionally foraged or medicinal fungal species collected at 23 sites across Yunnan province, China,… |
| 8 | Pankavec et al. 2019. Mineral Constituents of Conserved White Button Mushrooms: Similarities and Differences, Roczniki Państwowego Zakładu Higieny (Annals of the National Institute of Hygiene) | 2019 | Peer-reviewed | PL/EU Pb, Cd, tHg, tAs, Ag, Sb, Tl, U, Ni, Al, Cr, Co, Cu, Zn, Mn, Mg, Se, Li, Cs, Ba, V occurrence in 100 unit packages of commercially available pickled/conserved white button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) from 6 manufacturers (brand identifiers omitted… (n=100) |
| 9 | Brzezicha-Cirocka et al. 2016. Bio- and toxic elements in edible wild mushrooms from two regions of potentially different environmental conditions in eastern Poland, Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 2016 | Peer-reviewed | PL/EU Cd, Ag, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn occurrence in Pooled edible wild mushroom samples from Morag, north-eastern Poland, and the Tarnobrzeska Plain, south-eastern Poland; seven species with… (n=213) |
Update history
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