Overview
Domagalska and colleagues analysed 164 packaged dried mushrooms from Polish shops for cadmium and lead (ET-AAS), total mercury (CV-AFS) and arsenic (ICP-OES). Results are reported as medians with quartiles and ranges by product type (certified organic versus conventional), species and coded producer. Porcini carried the most cadmium and mercury, slippery jack the most arsenic, and one bay bolete sample reached 369.048 mg/kg arsenic.
Key numbers
- Porcini (Boletus edulis, n=46): cadmium median 1.30 mg/kg (Q1-Q3 0.73-1.88, max 9.86); mercury median 0.243 (max 4.240) (Tables 2-3).
- Slippery jack (Suillus luteus, n=15): arsenic median 5.364 mg/kg (Q1-Q3 4.412-8.260) (Table 5).
- Button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus, n=8): cadmium median 0.040 mg/kg; lead and arsenic all below LOQ (Tables 3-5).
Methods (brief)
Microwave nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide digestion of ground dried product. LOQs: cadmium 0.01, lead 0.10, arsenic 0.66, mercury 0.002 mg/kg; results below LOQ were replaced with half the LOQ in the statistics. Spike recoveries are in a supplement that was not filed.
Evidence Fitness
A large, recent retail survey of dried product as sold, with a clear producer and certification comparison. Limits: high arsenic LOQ, half-LOQ substitution in the medians, a missing decimal in two lead maxima, and supplementary QA not available. Dried whole mushrooms are a proxy for cream-of-mushroom-soup and do not support that page directly.