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Facts
DID YOU KNOW?
Most Australian
mushrooms
are the white
button type
Most mushrooms produced in Australia are the white button type (Agaricus bisporus) although there are small amounts of exotic types now grown.
6th
most valuable
horticultural crop
Mushrooms are the sixth most valuable horticultural crop and the third most valuable fresh produce item in the vegetable section of the supermarket after potatoes and tomatoes.
average purchase
volume
457g
More than 85% of Australian households purchase fresh mushrooms regularly; 55% of them buy at least once per week and 38% of primary grocery shoppers always have them on their shopping list.
The average purchase volume is 457 grams.
90%
of people over 25
love mushrooms
About half the child population either like or love mushrooms and over 90% of people over the age of 25 either like or love mushrooms.
98% of mushroom eaters believe mushroomsadd something special to a dish.
of consumers
love mushrooms
in a stir fry
88% of consumers love mushrooms in a stirfry; 83% of consumers love mushrooms in a salad.
74% of mushroom eaters would probably order a mushroom entrée in a restaurant.
The mushroom is neither a fruit nor a vegetable. All mushrooms come from a completely different living kingdom, the mushroom kingdom, or what we call the “3rd Food Kingdom”.
Because it is from a different food kingdom, the mushroom has a very different nutrition profile and has antioxidants and bioactive compounds not found in plants.
the only non-
animal fresh
food source of
vitamin
B12
The mushroom has more B vitamins than found in vegetables, they are still the only non-animal fresh food source of B12. It is a good source of essential minerals like selenium and has powerful antioxidants like ergothioneine.
When placed
in sunlight the
mushroom
generates
vitamin D
The mushroom, like humans, generates vitamin D when it is in the sunlight. Putting your mushrooms in the sunshine for a 30-60 minutes will get them to start producing vitamin D.
Some Australian farmers have produced mushrooms with the daily needs of vitamin D in a single 100g serve, about 3 button mushrooms.
50%
less risk of
breast cancer for
mushroom eaters
There is some very compelling evidence that women who eat mushrooms have a much lower risk of breast cancer than women who don’t eat mushrooms. There have been three population studies that show that women who include mushrooms in their diet have about half the risk of breast cancer. This requires further research to determine the role of mushrooms in cancer.
There is no evidence that certain fruits, vegetables or even mushrooms make gout worse. In fact, a high consumption of fruit, vegetables and mushrooms is linked to a lower risk of gout.
Mushrooms do not have any gluten, so can be easily used in a gluten-free diet. There are gluten-free recipes in our recipe collection.
Facts
DID YOU KNOW?
History
AUSTRALIA'S INDUSTRY
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