I am a licensed Horticulturist in Louisiana. My daughter is an outdoorsman. Anyway she went out hunting mushrooms and found several. Including some truffles. Please advise me of What license I need to help her sell them. She is 15 and trying to make school money to help us. If you can answer this or help please let me know. I don’t mind posting my name or phone number but I rather message it privately for now. Only because I want to conceal the location of the mushrooms for now.
This may be an old Article, but the way I read it you can't sell Wild Mushrooms in Louisiana. I'm from Michigan and you have to be Certified by the FDA in Mushroom Identification.The cost is around $175.00 to become certified, and in my opinion it's a waste of time and money. It's a one day class and I don't consider anyone that takes this class an expert in Mushroom Identification. It's just not possible. If there's a mistake in identification, who do you think is going to have legal problems, certainly not the state. I guess if you stick to simple mushrooms like Morels, you probably won't have a problem. NAMA ( North American Mycological Association ) may have more information for you too. Click link below. National Survey of State Regulation of Wild Mushroom Foraging -...
I have taken and passed the Michigan test and can guarantee you there is more to passing the test than attending the one day class. With that being said I think the test was way too easy and people passed who had no other reason than luck and good test taking skills. The young lady who would like to sell her wild mushrooms should look online for a professional buyer who will be responsible for proper ID. The buyer will also tell her what he wants in a mushroom and how he wants it handled. It's not a good idea to put up a sign for mushrooms for sale if you are not FDA certified. I am told the government is cracking down on wild mushroom sales. If she doesn't want to get certified she can always hire some one to identify them for her and then she can sell her mushrooms. But to be very safe I would contact a buyer. They may or may not want to deal with a small quantity seller but you don't know until you try. I think getting certified at her age would be wonderful. It might even look good on a resume or college application. It's a fun hobby.
Just curious, what kind of truffles, and what area of Louisiana? Just happen to be visiting LA this week from GA and came here to check on morel availability in the state (apparently, not).
