New research aimed at furthering understanding of mushrooms’ nutritional qualities will focus on cognitive health and mushrooms’role in healthy eating patterns

With mushrooms growing in awareness and consideration among consumers nationwide, the Mushroom Council is making a $1.5 million investment in research to help broaden understanding of the food’s nutritional qualities and overall health benefits.

In its September 5 board meeting, the Mushroom Council voted unanimously for the two-year research initiative. The vote came after a nutrition summit in April to identify research priorities, followed bya request for and review of proposals over the summer.

“This is an auspicious time for the mushroom industry. Awareness has never been higher and adoption of techniques like The Blend™ continue to keep mushrooms top of mind,” said Bart Minor, president and CEO of the Mushroom Council. “Prior to the passage of the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act of 1990, little was known about the health and nutrition benefits of mushrooms. The industry’s commitment to research over the decades has significantly advanced our understanding and appreciation for mushrooms’ inherent nutrition qualities. We look forward to continuing this commitment with the next chapter of research investment.

”In April, the Mushroom Council invited 26 researchers and council board memberswhoreviewedpast council research projects and established criteria for new project proposals. Following the summit, the group identified neurocognition and food pattern modeling as research priority areasand issued two requests for proposals to the nutrition research community. The council received 15 proposals that were reviewed by the council’s scientific Research AdvisoryPanel. The final proposals recommended for funding at the September board meeting include:

• Nutrimetabolomics* and markers of health promotion of mushrooms in healthy eating patterns.
• Modeling the effects of substituting and/or adding a full serving of mushrooms to healthy eating patterns.
• Insights into mushrooms’ relationship with cognitive health in older adults.
• Study on mushrooms’ impact on brain health inanimal modeling.
• Investigating mushroom consumption and preference among preschoolers.
• Analysis of mushrooms for bioactives/ergothioneine for inclusion in USDA database.

Since 2002, the council has conducted research that supports greater mushroom demand by discovering nutrient and health benefits of mushrooms. Published results from these projects form the basis for communicating these benefits to consumers and health influencers.

(*Nutrimetabolomicsis the identification of mushroom-specific compounds, their absorption and excretion, and relationship to improved health).

About the Mushroom Council
The Mushroom Council is composed of fresh market producers or importers who average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Promotion, Research and Consumer InformationAct of 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad. These industry self-help programs are requested and funded by the industry groups that they serve.

For more information, visit mushroomcouncil.com.
Contact:
Eric Davis
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Imagine the third picking day of a first flush. In the morning the pickers are picking a beautiful mushroom. Around noon the mushrooms are starting to lose colour and 3 hours later they start growing like mad. Stems are stretching and caps are getting soft.

Does that sound familiar?
In that case look at the casing. If you start checking the casing it is very well possible that it is getting warmer. The differential between ambient temperature and casing temperature is gone. This means that the evaporation has almost or completely stopped. In other words: the casing soil is too dry.

Watering at that moment is too late. If water is applied at this moment the mushrooms will lose the colour completely and bacterial blotch is the next problem.
To solve that problem the grower has to look at the next room where the next flush is coming. In the last days of outgrow water can be given on mushrooms that have the size between a pea and a cherry. Generally, that is about 3 days before the start of the harvest of the first flush. The amount of water can be around 2 litres per m².
Just one watering can be enough to solve this problem.

But only if the rest of the circumstances are okay. A good open and heavy casing soil which can hold that water.
And good selective picking so the outgrow of the flush during the harvest is more gradual and not explosive.
It is possible to detect the moment when the casing is drying out by using an infrared thermometer. If the casing soil temperature is getting up, the casing dries out. The right watering moment is just before that point.

According to mushroom quotation provided by Shaanxi Xinqiao Market, on October 25, Shiitake mushroom, Superior Shiitake mushroom and King oyster mushroom are 3 varieties that show price fall.

1. Price of Shiitake mushroom has dropped from 12 to 11 CNY per kg, indicating 8% of decline range.

2. Price of Superior Shiitake mushroom has dropped from 14 to 13 CNY per kg, indicating 7% of decline range.

3. Price of King oyster mushroom has dropped from 6.5 to 6 CNY per kg, indicating 8% of decline range.

On the contrary, by October 25, Enoki mushroom, White beech mushroom and Brown Shimeji mushroom are 3 varieties that show price rise.

1. Price of Enoki mushroom has risen from 4.8 to 5.3 CNY per kg, indicating 10% of increase range.

2. Price of White beech mushroom has risen from 13.3 to 14.2 CNY per kg, indicating 7% of increase range.

3. Price of Brown Shimeji mushroom has risen from 17.5 to 18.3 CNY per kg, indicating 5% of increase range.

“Price of Seafood mushroom is at 8.5 CNY per kg. Recently, price of mushroom fluctuates a little in our market while the price of industrialized varieties such as Enoki, White beech and Brown Shimeji mushroom rises in a small range,” introduces manager of Shaanxi Xinqiao Market warmly.

Now, it is the fruiting time of Grifola frondosa in Huangtian Town, Qingyuan County, Zhejiang Province of China, with faces wreathed in smiles, growers are engaged with picking and drying work.

“Now, market price on fresh Grifola frondosa is at 24 CNY per kg while the dried form is sold at 80-100 CNY per kg,” introduces one of Grifola frondosa growers passionately.

Grifola frondosa is categorized into a kind of edible and rare mushroom which is known as Maitake mushroom in China. Cultivation of Grifola frondosa shows high requirement to water quality, air and other natural environment. According to research, 100g of dried Grifola frondosa are packed with 22.75g of protein, 23.58g of amino acid, and other micro elements. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that Grifola frondosa and its extracts evidently play the role of warding off cancer and virus, enhancing the immune system, lowering the blood pressure, blood sugar and blood fat, thus helping support healthy energy.

picture: Only 71 species out of over 100,000 described species of fungi glow.

Glowing in the dark costs energy. So why do mushrooms bioluminescence?

To answer this question, researchers from Brazil and the U.S. focused on the pale green light emitted from fungi. They had a hunch that the light attracted insects. Fungi produce tiny spores to spread themselves, much like seeds from trees. Insects can help transport the fungal spores. The researchers were also curious if glowing brighter attracted more insects.

The fungi Neonothopanus gardneri, glows strongly at the bottom of coconut palms in Brazil, near the transition ecosystems by the Amazon forest. Down below the palms, the mushrooms are exposed to less windflow, so they need to find another way to spread their spores in order to be reproductively successful.

Originally it was thought that these mushrooms glowed all the time. Constant bioluminescence uses a lot of energy, so the researchers wanted to examine if this assumption was true.

Author: Linh Anh Cat
Read the full articel here

"I tried mushroom coffee for the first time at a crunchy cafe in West Berkeley: a latte brewed with a chaga mushroom elixir. It reminded me of a slightly bitter chai, with an astringent finish, thankfully softened by the mild sweetness of oat milk. But what the concoction lacked in palatability, it apparently compensated for in health benefits, according to my barista, who prattled off a laundry list of them — everything from immunity and focus, to vitality and general well-being. Since then, I’ve spotted mushroom coffee on a smattering of other specialty café menus.

After a bit of digging, I've learned that Goop-endorsed company Four Sigmatic sells mushroom coffee grounds and instant coffee at Whole Foods, Sprouts, and other grocery chains. Other companies like NeuRoast and Sayan offer similar products. Clearly, mushroom coffee is trending. I wondered, though, whether it does anything, or if it was just more woo-woo wellness hype."

Read the full article here.


Source: BDG Media Inc, by Melissa Pandika

On October 18, farmers working in the cooperative of Weinanbai Village, Hengqu County, Shanxi Province of China are busy with picking of Shiitake mushroom.

“Now, there are 2 mushroom cooperatives in our village, annual cultivation capacity of Shiitake nutrient bags reaches 100,000 bags while over 50 poor farmers are leaded to generate the annual per caipta income of 6000 CNY,” introduces person in charge of the cooperative passionately, going on that after years of development, by now, 3200 standardized cold mushroom sheds have been built in Hengqu County, annual output on green Shiitake mushroom, Oyster mushroom and Black fungus comes to 12,000 tons, mushrooms are sold well to over 10 provinces and cities in China, output value hits 120 million CNY while above 3000 farmers are encouraged to embark on mushroom growing and get stable revenues.

According to mushroom quotation provided by Yunnan Guanshang Vegetable Market, on October 17, Enoki mushroom is the sole variety that shows price rise, from 6 to 6.5 CNY per kg.

On the contrary, by October 17, Shiitake mushroom, Oyster mushroom, King oyster mushroom, Button mushroom, Agrocybe cylindracea, Seafood mushroom and Pleurotus cornucopiae are 7 varieties that show price fall.

1. Price of Shiitake mushroom has dropped from 16 to 14 CNY per kg, indicating 13% of decline range.

2. Price of Oyster mushroom has dropped from 6.5 to 6 CNY per kg, indicating 8% of decline range.

3. Price of King oyster mushroom has dropped from 6.5 to 6 CNY per kg, indicating 8% of decline range.

4. Price of Button mushroom has dropped from 17.1 to 15.7 CNY per kg, indicating 8% of decline range.

5. Price of Agrocybe cylindracea has dropped from 12 to 10 CNY per kg, indicating 17% of decline range.

6. Price of Seafood mushroom has dropped from 10 to 9.5 CNY per kg, indicating 5% of decline range.

7. Price of Pleurotus cornucopiae has dropped from 7.5 to 6 CNY per kg, indicating 20% of decline range.

“Price of White beech mushroom, Brown Shimeji mushroom and Pleurotus nebrodensis is respectively at 14.2 CNY, 18.3 CNY and 27.5 CNY per kg. Recently, dim sales of mushroom and sufficient market supply pull down the price of mushroom in our market,” said manager of Yunnan Guanshang Vegetable Market warmly.