Gibsons, BC, Canada—Nammex has filed a Citizen Petition requesting that FDA ensure dietary supplements and foods containing ingredients from fungi are properly labeled to identify fungal part and list any included grain substrates. The North American supplier of Certified Organic Functional Mushroom Extracts took this action in response to vagueness that exists with regard to product regulations and overall lack of clarity on industry requirements related to labeling.
Labelling concerns
Inconsistent use of fungal terminology, especially the term “mushrooms,” is the main issue behind the confusion that exists throughout the industry and among consumers, Nammex reports, flagging recent marketing campaigns that market mycelium fermented grain products with claims of “Made with US Grown Mushrooms.” Nammex says such efforts mislead consumers and go against FDA guidelines.
“Consumers trust brands to deliver the benefits they pay for, and they deserve nothing less than absolute honesty in labeling,” says Nammex CEO Skye Chilton. “True transparency is about ensuring that what’s on the label is exactly what’s in the bottle.”
Another term that is contributing to confusion, Nammex maintains, is “full spectrum.” Nammex explains: “Products where the mass or chemical profile is primarily composed of non-medicinal substrates, such as grain in mycelium fermented grain products, cannot be classified as full spectrum. A full-spectrum preparation is a formulation intentionally designed to preserve the broad, representative chemical complexity of a specific, therapeutically relevant plant or fungal part, prioritizing the synergistic interactions of natural constituents over the isolation of single compounds.”
Chilton says Nammex has been working to clear up miscommunications within the industry and advocating for transparency for many years. “As happens more often than it should, those of us who have long been advocates for transparency in fungi product labeling and marketing are compelled to clarify the issue,” Chilton notes. “It’s really very simple. The main point we have been making for decades is that functional fungi products should be accurately and properly identified in their entirety. To protect the integrity of this growing product category, consumers deserve the truth. Products that don’t contain mushrooms shouldn’t be hidden behind the term mushroom.”
Advocating for transparency
Nammex has a long history of advocating for accuracy and transparency in the labeling and marketing of fungi products. The company offers several resources through its website on the education and correct use of terms associated with mushrooms. Additionally, the Nammex team is currently working with analytical labs and standards setting organizations to develop validated methods of analysis for identity, purity, and potency of fungal based ingredients. Research is currently underway on the development and validation of independent testing methods for fungi including the characterization of raw materials.
For industry members and U.S. mushroom growers, Nammex is stressing the importance of enforcing transparency and label accuracy. Pointing to one area of concern, Chilton said: “The North American Functional Mushroom Council marketing group with ‘mushroom’ in its name and made up primarily of mycelium fermented grain producers, doesn’t even have the word ‘mycelium’ on its website. It does, however, have the word ‘mushroom’ in its name and over 100 times on its website, which also features plenty of pictures of mushrooms. The implication is they represent products made from mushrooms, which they primarily do not.”
