Plans underway for Australia’s biggest vertically-integrated exotic mushroom farm in South Australia

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One of the most well-known automobile manufacturing facilities located in South Australia is set to be one of the most manufacturing facilities for exotic mushrooms worldwide.

Earlier this year, the Epicurean Food Group announced Holden’s old vehicle painting plant in the Northern Adelaide suburbs will be transformed into a multi-million-dollar, first-of-its-kind, vertically integrated farm. Regional Sales and Marketing Manager Dale Aitken says one of primary reasons behind the establishment of the facility was to make it a full manufacturing facility for food products and not just for fresh mushrooms, and also products made with mushrooms.

“We focus on developing food alternatives using mushrooms,”” the man declared. “We are going to create things such as mushroom burgers, mushrooms sausages and balls in order to provide people with different options in the food they purchase. It will also provide food items for people with allergies, include gluten-free and nut-free as well as non-shellfish, and soy-free. The customers will be able to choose to vegetarian, flexible or vegan dishes that are not exclusively vegan. Our goal is not to become a substitute for meat; we are an option for mushrooms. All of our meals are wholefood and carry an overall health score of five stars.”

The current space is 4,000 square meters The future plans for growth will see the business expand into a second building and will take on a further 30,000 square metres. In addition to the standard Button, Swiss Brown or White buttons, the company produces exotic types including Oyster, Shiitake, Enoki, King Oyster and Lion’s Mane along with a host of others such as medicinal types. Mr. Aitken states that the business already offers new products that is available for sale through Costa Group, which plan to grow into additional retailers.

“Costa Group, a large market player in the button mung market, claims they’re an extremely popular staple in Australia however, consumers require greater exposure to new and exotic mushrooms” Mr Aitken declared. “People look at them and do not understand what to use them for because they’re different from other varieties. They have a distinct flavor, texture and feel. Our goal is to help educate the public in order to help them understand about the many kinds of mushrooms that are available. The exotic mushrooms are more suited to make meals since the typical Buttons or Swiss Browns, don’t hold their shape. In contrast there are varieties such as Oyster and Shiitake are better suited to cooking. There are many different ways to use exotic mushrooms but the most important thing is the ability to produce fresh and healthy mushrooms, in addition to value-added items. In the case of example, if there’s a lack of demand for fresh mushrooms within a week, we could move them into the kitchen, so that nothing gets lost.”

The plant is vertically integrated, ranging through the process of creating substrates and spawns all the until the stage of production and finally to the kitchen area, in which the food is made. The mushrooms are propagated on substrates that are sustainable and in stacker rooms which are illuminated, air-conditioned and humidified.

Another major boost for this industry is the flow-on effects that result from the localisation of production. This is as the industry estimates that 85 percent of the world’s exotic mushrooms comes from overseas sources.

“For instance, Shiitake is traditionally grown on logs of hardwood that were inoculated elsewhere and then grown in the United States,” Mr. Aitken stated. “So Shiitake is an imported product that is processed here. The goal is to employ 350 local workers when the project is completed.”

Mr Aitken mentions that one of their objectives is also to cultivate the mushrooms sustainably by using environmentally friendly substrates such as straw, and packaging that’s recyclable. Furthermore, with the plant being located within a suburban setting, there won’t be any odour to bother the residents of the urban neighborhood.

“We recycle our waste material back to farms in order to aid with the enrichment of soil. In the near future, we’ll use the wastewater as a substrate for the production of green energy and recyclable plastic waste that can be recycled by commercial companies outside of our facility.

More information is available here.

Dale Aitken

Epicurean Food Group

Phone: 1300 44 94 31 (within Australia)

sales@efgroup.au

www.efgroup.au

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Source: The Plantations International Agroforestry Group of Companies