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I am very concerned about the safety of mushrooms. A few years ago, I became
sick more than once after eating specialty mushrooms at a favorite
restaurant. I didn't catch on right away, because I thought that it just
couldn't be the mushrooms.

Then I saw an article in a local newspaper about a local mushroom grower who
said that he grew his mushrooms in wheat straw. I have asked two other
mushroom growers at our farmers' market what medium they use. One said wheat
straw, the other said compost, but couldn't or wouldn't say what the compost
might contain.

Now, I buy only common white mushrooms, and only those if they are very
clean, with caps tightly attached to the stems. I also wash them before
cooking.

Margaret