In conversation with the Farmer’s Journal this month CMP man Donal McCarthy was saying that the mushroom industry had made major advances when it comes to innovation, value-added product and differentiating packaging.
He told the Journal ,“If you grow white mushrooms and send them across the Irish Sea, that just gets you in the game.”
He maintained that growers have invested heavily in research and product development and recently launched mushrooms naturally fortified with vitamin B12 in the UK.
These mushrooms are especially targeted towards vegetarians who often lack B12 in their diet. “We need to keep mushrooms relevant to consumers,” McCarthy said. “There are 3,300 jobs across mainly rural areas depending on it. There are few other industries that can provide the employment we do.”
