Mushrooms set to enter peak retail sales season in Ireland
In Ireland, sales of mushrooms are up 2,500 tonnes in the first two years of Just Add Mushrooms, a campaign hosted by an EU-wide alliance of mushroom producers.
The number of Irish households eating mushrooms has risen by 79,000 since the campaign started.
Irish sales jump 25% in the peak winter period. Paula Mee has joined forces with farmers to highlight mushrooms’ nutritional benefits.
She said: “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and mushrooms make the perfect ingredient, as they are not only filling and flavoursome but extremely versatile. As well as being low in fat and calories, roughly four mushrooms (80g) count as one of your five-a-day fruit and vegetable portions.
“Mushrooms are a source of folic acid and of vitamin B. These vitamins work in the body to help release energy from the food we eat and help in the reduction of tiredness and fatigue. A wonderful way to start the day.”
The Irish mushroom market employs 2,500 people with retail sales of €50m. Kantar data has shown a 1% rise in annual retail mushroom sales to 13,700 tonnes.
