Watsonville, Calif.-based Monterey Mushrooms will use its presence at the March 9-11 Southeast Produce Council's Southern Exposure conference to feature the possibilities for blending fresh mushrooms with protein
Conroe, Texas-based Country Fresh has recalled more than 2,500 cases of mushroom and fruit products that contain Sargento-branded cheeses because they have the potential to be contaminated with listeria.
Company officials say Kennett Square, Pa.-based Oakshire Mushroom Farm has found great value in its new Mettler-Toledo Safeline Signature Touch metal detector.
The Mushroom council is sponsoring "Blend the Rules," a contest for schools to show creative ways to offer mushrooms to students, and using meat blended with mushrooms in recipes.
If you ask mushroom marketers what the next step is after The Blend, their response is quick and practically universal: They won't need to take such a step for some time.
Increasingly, the mushroom business is all about diversity, said Jane Rhyno, sales and marketing director with Leamington, Ontario-based Highline Mushrooms.
Marketers say the idea of a non-browning mushroom developed through gene-editing techniques is intriguing, although few seem to know if consumers will accept the idea.
The San Jose, Calif.-based Mushroom Council says consumers are getting excited about the blending of mushrooms and meats for its nutritional value, among other reasons.
Lower-than-anticipated mushroom supplies - 15% to 20% less by some estimates - had caused some worries among marketers at precisely the wrong time - the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Watsonville, Calif.-based grower-shipper Monterey Mushrooms has created a nutrition guide for registered dietitians to help share fresh mushrooms' health message in 2017.
Monterey Mushroooms is in the process of restructuring its sales and marketing division, hiring a new sales manager and establishing an internship program.
Mushroom volumes were up in the 2015-16 season, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and they'll likely continue to go up in the 2016-17 season, shippers and industry officials say.
Mushroom marketers say consumers are more knowledgeable about the category than in the past, but there are still education efforts needed, especially as specialty varieties gain in popularity.
