Mushroom Purchasing, Storing and Handling at the Retail & Food Service Level

All Seasons mushrooms are produced using state-of-the-art growing methods and handling practices to ensure high quality. A few simple steps will help preserve your supplies.

• For optimum shelf life, fresh mushrooms should arrive between 34 and 40 degrees F.
• Inspect mushrooms for crushing as a result of shipping.
• Mushrooms should smell fresh and earthy.
• Open caps and exposed gill tissue (White and Crimini) are not a sign of poor quality, but of maturity.
• Do not wash before storage.
• Store in original containers. Do not store in non-porous plastic bags, as plastic accelerates mushroom deterioration.
• Immediately refrigerate both bulk and prepackaged mushrooms for longer freshness.  Ideal temperature is 34 degrees F. but should be kept under 40 degrees F.
• Optimum humidity for storage is 85 to 90%, which also helps maintain quality and shelf life.
• Do not store near pungent items as mushrooms may absorb strong odors.
• Do not stack heavy items on top of mushroom containers.

Special tips for the retail sector:

• When displaying mushrooms at retail, ensure air flow on refrigerated counter is at optimum efficiency to avoid unnecessary dehydration and discolouration.

• Do not “dump” mushrooms from one box to another when putting out new stock on the retail display.  Mushrooms bruise easily and dumping will result in damaged product. 
• Very important to note, if mushrooms are removed from their original container, the ability to trace and track the product will be lost.
• DO NOT MIST MUSHROOMS at the retail display case.
• Rotate mushrooms to keep the retail display looking as fresh as possible to maximize sales.