Electronic Nose Comparison of the Edible Amanita Ponderosa with the Deadly Amanita Verna

One of the main problems arising from the collection and marketing of the Amanita ponderosa (A.), also known as “gurumelo” in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, is its possible confusion with some species of spring mushrooms, especially A. verna. If the first one is considered as an excellent edible one, and its harvest generates mycological cross-border fairs between towns in Spain and Portugal, the ingestion of the second one produces the so-called late phalloidin syndrome, which can lead to the death of the consumer. Both have a very similar morphology, especially in their first stage of growth when their volva begins to open. This work studies the possibility of developing dedicated low-consumption, portable electronic nose devices capable of chemically supporting the odour differentiation made by collectors, industries and retailers, between the dangerous A. verna and the delicious A. ponderosa.