10 safety tips for ticket collectors

Catalonia enjoys a well-known mushroom tradition. When the autumn rains arrive, a large number of people move to the forests with the desire to spend some time having fun and fill their baskets with mushrooms.

But be careful: some species are toxic and very dangerous. The basic criterion to avoid them is to consume only those mushrooms that can be identified without any doubt.

10 safety tips for all mushroom pickers:

1. Before heading out, check the weather forecast and learn about the area if you're not familiar with it.
2. Bring suitable equipment, food and water. Brightly colored clothing will make it easier to locate you if you get lost.
3. Bring maps and technological systems (phone, GPS, apps...) that you know how to use well. You can find your way if you get lost and call 112.
4. Do not go alone and always maintain visual or verbal contact with whoever is accompanying you.
5. Take reference points to orient yourself: paths, ravines, the place where you left your car, etc.
6. Adapt the activity to your physical condition and age: avoid steep areas and risk of precipitation.
7. When the day is shorter, plan your return to get to your starting point before dark. There should always be time left over for any unforeseen circumstances.
8. Collect mushrooms in wicker baskets and not in plastic bags. In this way, the generative particles of the mushrooms - the spores - are recovered by the forest. Mushrooms suffocate and decay in plastic bags.
9. Take only those you identify without any doubt.
10. Do not pick up, step on or crush any mushroom you do not know. You can take it for mycological consultation only, not for consumption.