Safety and commercial issues in fresh mushrooms and mushroom-based products sold at retail in Tuscany region

Abstract

The compliance to European and National safety and labelling requirements relating to the sale of spontaneous and cultivated mushrooms and mushroom-based products in Tuscany was assessed. The evidence was collected by the Mycological Inspectorate of North-West Tuscany Local Health Authority during 90 inspections (from 2016 to 2020) at large-scale distribution stores, wholesalers, and restaurants in 10 cities belonging to 3 provinces, and on the labelling analysis of 98 commercial products collected at retail in 2021. Despite a substantial compliance of the inspected activities and products with the regulatory requirements, critical issues were highlighted: 1) EU legislative gap in the definition of specific measures for the safe sale of spontaneous mushrooms; 2) improper shelf storage temperatures of fresh-cut products; 3) incorrect condition of use on the labels of pre-packaged products; 4) lack of countryof- origin declaration in pre-packaged products. Furthermore, the labelling analysis highlighted that 18.4% and 15.3% of the products presented issues in the validity and correctness of the scientific names respect to national requirements in. A revision of the current EU legislation is needed to guarantee consumers safety, also considering the relevant number of poisoning cases related to false mycetisms (ingestion of edible mushrooms unproperly stored or used). Also, a specific revision and harmonization of the EU labelling of mushrooms would be desirable to protect consumers.

A Further Step toward Sustainable Development: The Case of the Edible Mushroom Supply Chain

“…The EU regulatory framework has integrated previous national regulations that specifically address harvesting and marketing rules on both fresh and preserved epigean mushrooms to define the criteria required for the identification of, labeling of, and trade in edible species, but the specific regulations pertaining to European mushrooms are either guidelines or legislation based on traditional and mycological background, and they are managed by individual nations and, in some cases, such as in Italy, integrated with regional guidelines [ 54 ]. Hence, a gap exists at the EU level concerning the definition of specific measures to enable the safe commercialization of spontaneous mushrooms, considering the documented episodes of “false mycetism” that frequently occur because of the inadequate storage conditions implemented in the sales locations or the incorrect use conditions reported on the labels of both cultivated and wild mushrooms [ 55 ]. It is well known that mushrooms contain certain thermoresistant toxic compounds that can be responsible, for example, for chronic and acute gastrointestinal or neurological syndromes [ 54 , 56 ].…”

“…The majority of companies mainly sell their products in the wholesale market (55), and most of the other companies sell their products in the retail market (42). Interestingly, the third most used sales channel is the company's own website, which is used by 34 companies and preferred to large-scale retail channels, which are used by 26 companies.…”

Bioprospecting of Selected Species of Polypore Fungi from the Western Balkans

“…Mushroom cultivation is speeding up in Europe driven by the widespread popularity of the vegan diet and investments in research and development of novel mushroom-based products [ 1 , 2 ]. Once mycophobic, the population of Western Europe is accepting mushrooms as food but also as dietary supplements as a consequence of scientific and user-based findings of fungal biological activity with few or no side effects [ 3 ].…”

Identifying the Biological Potential of Western Balkan Polypore Mushroom Species to Mitigate the Negative Effects of Global Mushroom Cultivation

“…Mushroom cultivation is speeding up in Europe driven by the widespread popularity of the vegan diet and investments in research and development of novel mushroom-based products. [1,2] Once mycophobic, the population of Western Europe is accepting mushrooms as food but also as dietary supplements as a consequence of scientific and user-based findings of fungal biological activity with few or no side effects. [3] Popular magazines, scientific journals, and specialized mushroom conferences like the International Medicinal Mushroom Conference (IMMC) are also contributing to this paradigm shift and "mushroomisation" of Europe and the Western World.…”