title: Wild growing mushrooms for the Edible City? Cadmium and lead content in edible mushrooms harvested within the urban agglomeration of Berlin, Germany.
abstract: Health effects by consuming urban garden products are discussed controversially due to high urban pollution loads. We sampled wild edible mushrooms of different habitats and commercial mushroom cultivars exposed to high traffic areas within Berlin, Germany. We determined the content of cadmium and lead in the fruiting bodies and analysed how the local setting shaped the concentration patterns. EU standards for cultivated mushrooms were exceeded by 86% of the wild mushroom samples for lead and by 54% for cadmium but not by mushroom cultures. We revealed significant differences in trace metal content depending on species, trophic status, habitat and local traffic burden. Higher overall traffic burden increased trace metal content in the biomass of wild mushrooms, whereas cultivated mushrooms exposed to inner city high traffic areas had significantly lower trace metal contents. Based on these we discuss the consequences for the consumption of mushrooms originating from urban areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Ernst Reuter Platz 1 (BH 9-1), D-10587 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin Thomas
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Schlecht
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Technische Universität Berlin, Ernst Reuter Platz 1 (BH 9-1), D-10587 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: ina.saeumel@tu-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Ina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Säumel
mesh_terms: D000363:Agaricales / Q000737:chemistry*; D001604:Berlin; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis*; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis*; D001335:Vehicle Emissions
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead
keywords: Basidiomycota; Human health; Macroscopic fungi; Trace metal concentration; Traffic parameters