Danish mushroom producer thinks in sustainability at all levels

Thirty years ago, there were more than 30 mushroom producers in Denmark. Today, there are only two left: St. Restrup Mushrooms and Tvedemose. In order to prevent Tvedemose from suffering the same fate as their colleagues, they realised that it was necessary to go new ways, and decided to invest 100 percent on organic and high quality. As part of a new strategy, sustainability and self-sufficiency became some of the most important landmarks.

Therefore, in 2018, Tvedemose created two new companies where one of them, Tvedemose Food ApS, forms the framework for the development of new dried products.

Dried vegetables and mushrooms

Tvedemose is best known as Denmark’s largest producer of mushrooms, but recently the company has included a range of dried vegetables and fruits in their range, which director Jens Christian Hansen finds great interest in.

“We have made a series of air-dried beets, onions, parsnips, carrots and apples. It is the pure goods. We just removed the water so it is pure dry raw materials and the onions can for example be used as a substitute for roasted onions in a burger”, says Jens Christian Hansen.

He believes that the dried products can serve as a snack product, but he also sees the dried vegetables as an obvious product for the industry, where they can be used as vegetable flour in many different products.

“I see that there is a great demand for it, and I have been contacted by several chains,” says the director, who also has a product he calls mushroom “scrap”, which helps reduce their food waste as it is made from leftovers from large mushrooms and mushrooms canes.

“It addresses to catering customers who can use it to make broths, while the mushroom itself can be used in risotto and more,” says Jens Christian Hansen, who reports that there are several dried products in the pipeline.

Reaching new markets

In relation to the sustainable agenda, Tvedemose considers it their most important task to recycle as much as possible between their chicken farms, Tvedemose and the organic farmers who supply straw to the mushroom compost so that they can get some nutrients back.

In addition, they see great potential in further developing dried mushroom granules or powders, as mushrooms are rich in umami and can be used as a protein source or flavor enhancer in the growing plant-based diet market.

Source: Organic Denmark