Overview
Asensio measured cadmium, lead, total mercury, and methylmercury in 48 edible mushroom samples from Madrid markets. The strongest occurrence signal was total mercury in wild mushrooms: wild mushrooms averaged 0.15 mg/kg total mercury (Hg), while cultivated mushrooms averaged 0.007 mg/kg. One wild Lepista panaeolus sample reported 0.97 mg/kg total Hg and 0.12 mg/kg methylmercury (MeHg), with MeHg representing 13% of total mercury in that sample.
Key numbers
The source reports concentrations as mg/kg in the tested mushrooms. Because the paper describes fresh market mushrooms homogenized directly before digestion and does not report drying, these values are treated as fresh-as-purchased unless a later correction from the author or publisher indicates otherwise.
Summary rows from Table III:
| Matrix/species | n | Cd min-max; mean (mg/kg) | Pb min-max; mean (mg/kg) | tHg min-max; mean (mg/kg) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cultivated mushrooms | 15 | <0.004-0.074; 0.030 | <0.010-0.036; 0.029 | <0.0050-0.0070; 0.0070 |
| Agaricus bisporus | 6 | <0.0040-<0.0040; not quantifiable | <0.010-0.036; 0.027 | <0.0050-<0.0050; not quantifiable |
| Agaricus brunnescens | 3 | <0.0040-0.070; 0.070 | <0.010-0.034; 0.034 | <0.0050-0.0070; 0.0070 |
| Lentinula edodes | 3 | 0.0040-0.080; 0.053 | <0.010-<0.010; not quantifiable | <0.0050-<0.0050; not quantifiable |
| Pleurotus eryngii, cultivated | 1 | <0.0040 | <0.010 | <0.0050 |
| Pleurotus ostreatus, cultivated | 2 | 0.012-0.030; 0.021 | <0.010-<0.010; not quantifiable | <0.0050-<0.0050; not quantifiable |
| Wild mushrooms | 33 | 0.0070-0.24; 0.063 | <0.010-0.30; 0.046 | <0.0050-0.97; 0.15 |
| Boletus edulis | 4 | 0.027-0.12; 0.078 | 0.015-0.033; 0.025 | 0.090-0.52; 0.24 |
| Hydnum repandum | 4 | 0.012-0.031; 0.024 | 0.012-0.049; 0.025 | 0.021-0.40; 0.14 |
| Lactarius delicius | 5 | 0.019-0.076; 0.038 | <0.010-0.065; 0.016 | 0.025-0.10; 0.048 |
| Lepista panaeolus | 1 | 0.11 | 0.024 | 0.97 |
| Macrolepiota procera | 1 | 0.24 | 0.30 | 0.55 |
Methylmercury speciation was performed only on the 10 samples exceeding 0.075 mg/kg total Hg. Table IV reports quantifiable MeHg in three samples: Lepista panaeolus had 0.12 mg/kg MeHg with 0.97 mg/kg total Hg, Macrolepiota procera had 0.015 mg/kg MeHg with 0.55 mg/kg total Hg, and one Boletus edulis sample had 0.022 mg/kg MeHg with 0.52 mg/kg total Hg. The remaining higher-Hg samples were reported as <0.010 mg/kg MeHg.
The author states that all cadmium and lead results complied with applicable maximum limits. For total mercury, one Lepista panaeolus sample exceeded the 0.50 mg/kg EU limit for wild mushrooms under Regulation (EU) 2018/73. No Boletus spp. sample reached the 0.90 mg/kg comparator for Boletus.
Methods (brief)
Cadmium, lead, and total mercury were measured by ICP-MS after acid digestion of 0.5 g homogenized sample with nitric acid, water, hydrochloric acid, and hydrogen peroxide. The ICP-MS method used Agilent 7900 instrumentation and measured 111Cd, 202Hg, and summed lead isotopes 206, 207, and 208. Methylmercury was extracted from 0.2 g sample using L-cysteine/HCl at 60 C for 30 minutes, centrifuged, filtered, and determined by HPLC-ICP-MS. The heavy-metals method is reported as ISO 17025-accredited and compliant with Regulation (EC) 333/2007 criteria; the MeHg method was still in the accreditation process.
Implications
Certification: This is direct occurrence evidence for edible mushrooms on a fresh-as-purchased basis. Wild and cultivated mushroom rows should not be pooled silently: the source reports much higher total Hg in wild mushrooms than in cultivated mushrooms, and the highest total Hg value is in a wild Lepista sample. MeHg is not interchangeable with total Hg; in this source the quantifiable MeHg fraction was at most 13% of total Hg.
Courses: The paper is useful for teaching speciation discipline. It shows why a total-Hg screening result in mushrooms does not automatically imply a fish-like MeHg profile.
App: The source supports a higher concern flag for wild mushrooms than cultivated mushrooms for total Hg, with a species-sensitive note for Lepista and Macrolepiota. For general cultivated mushroom exposure, the reported total Hg values are near or below 0.007 mg/kg.
Related evidence
- Mushrooms
- Wild Mushrooms
- Non-Root Vegetables
- Wild Mushrooms
- Cadmium
- Lead
- Mercury, Total
- Methylmercury
Update history
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