Prized morels are unpredictably and puzzlingly deadly, outbreak report shows.

On Thursday, Montana health officials published an outbreak analysis of poisonings linked to the honeycombed fungi in March and April of last year. The outbreak sickened 51 people who ate at the same restaurant, sending four to the emergency department. Three were hospitalized and two died. Though the health officials didn’t name the restaurant in their report, state and local health departments at the time identified it as Dave’s Sushi in Bozeman. The report is published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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    “Morels are more likely to cause intestinal distress if eaten raw, although even raw, they can be tolerated by some people,” the agency wrote. Morels should be cooked before eating, as cooking can destroy bacterial contaminants. “For that matter, all mushrooms, wild or cultivated, should be cooked to release their full nutritional value because chitin in their cell walls otherwise inhibits digestion,” the USDA writes.

    The article mentions multiple times that cooked mushrooms are safer than raw ones.