Mushroom Murder Trial Shaking Supermarket Chillers as Aussie Punters Panic Over Portobellos

Scott Mathias
May 11
2 min read

There’s an uncomfortable smell in the produce aisle and it’s not from the shiitakes.

As headlines around Australia continue to orbit the 'Beef Wellington' mushroom murder trial of Erin Patterson (shown left in custody- ABC Australia) , mushroom growers are facing a very different kind of toxic fallout in the form of public distrust.

The humble Portobello, once the poster child of plant-based burgers and bougie brunches, is now getting the 'side-eye' from Aussie shoppers. Swiss Browns are faring no better. Sales are reportedly dipping. Shoppers are “second looking” at their usual punnet of mushies, spooked not by flavour or price, but by a courtroom drama that’s starting to rot the category’s reputation.

At the centre of this media maelstrom is Erin Patterson, who allegedly served a beef Wellington laced with death cap mushrooms to her ex-in-laws. Three died. One barely survived. And the trial? It’s front-page fodder daily, from Lego-building after lunch to dehydrated ‘magic powder’ conspiracies. The optics are grim. Mushroom optics, worse.

Cue the Australian Mushroom Growers Association, now on full PR defence. They’re reminding the public commercially grown mushrooms, like buttons, Swiss Browns, and Portobellos, are not the villain here. “Farmed fungi are safe,” they insist. “Death caps don’t grow in punnets from Coles.”

Source: Australian Mushroom Growers Assoc. - Portobellos Mushrooms

But try telling that to the Aussie public currently bingeing on courtroom clickbait and avoiding the sauté pan. Growers are reportedly nervous. Mushroom meat, once a hero of the alt-protein world, is now suffering guilt by fungal association.

If kale had a PR crisis, it’d be laughed off. But mushrooms? These are already a divisive ingredient for many. Slippery when raw, suspicious when wild, and now, publicly linked with one of the most sensational murder trials in recent Australian memory.

Could a wave of mushroom mistrust derail the momentum of myco-based innovation, from functional blends to fermented mycelium steaks? Maybe. Or maybe Australians just need a palate cleanser and a reminder not all fungi are fatal.

For now, the safest mushroom move might just be one that comes with a QR code, a certified grower stamp, and zero references to Beef Wellington. Maybe just click on this article's audio sponsors link!!

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