In late September, Scelta Mushroooms started testing their new drying line for mushrooms. This production line is one of Scelta’s three large projects of 2017. Mid 2018, the next factory will be taken into use in Venlo, the Netherlands.
Dried mushrooms aren’t anything new, and have been used in primarily the Asian kitchens for a while now. The mushrooms are also gaining in popularity in healthy dishes in Europe. Roy Janssen of Scelta Mushrooms explains their method of working: “Mushrooms are still a growing market globally. For dried mushrooms, the supply now mainly comes from countries such as China. Consumers are asking for more local products, and we’re trying to respond to that demand. Production methods in China sometimes leave something to be desired in terms of quality, food safety, processing and origin of the product. Our product has complete traceability.”
Production process
“The production process is intense,” Roy continues. “For one kilogram of dried mushrooms we need about 12 kilograms of fresh mushrooms. We buy millions of mushrooms every week, from a permanent group of Dutch growers. These are supplied by lorry and placed on a large conveyor belt for a long drying process. It takes hours to remove all of the moisture from mushrooms. This manner of drying is unique in the world.”
Sales
“Right now we’re only producing semi-finished product. The product can be consumed, but is not yet available for direct consumer sales,” Roy says. “After the production process, the product is transported to the German co-owner Worlée. They do the final processing and sell this product within Europe.”
Vegetable snacks
Scelta doesn’t just supply dried mushrooms. The company also produces, among other products, frozen, boiled, grilled and fried mushrooms, mushroom powder and concentrate, as well as vegetable snacks and vegetable chips.
For more information:
Scelta Mushrooms
Heymansstraat 35
5927 NP Venlo, the Netherlands
T: +31 077 324 10 20