At fist glance, cereals and mushrooms seem to have little to do with each other. But far from it: "When grinding cereals, a lot of wheat bran, husks or peels are produced," Patrick Romanens, Deputy Managing Director of Fine Funghi AG told the COOP-Zeitung. "Wheat bran is particularly suitable for our shiitake, king trumpet and oyster mushrooms as well as for the pioppinos."
Patrick Romanens breeds shiitake, king trumpet and oyster mushrooms on his own organic substrate. Image: Fine Funghi AG
Ideal breeding ground for mushrooms
The 64-year-old is a pioneer in the field of mushrooms. Since the end of the 1980s he has been breeding in Gossau, in the middle of the Zurich Oberland. Today, 20 employees work on the fungi. "Our mushrooms grow on substrate that we produce, among other things, from wood shavings and wheat bran." The bran comes from the outer layers of the grain. "It is rich in fiber and minerals," says the farmer, who grew up in Lausanne and studied at the ETH in Zurich. "It is an ideal breeding ground for our mushrooms."
For more information:
Fine Funghi AG 
Tannenbergstrasse 17
8625 Gossau ZH
Tel. +41 44 975 16 70
Fax +41 44 975 16 71
info@biopilz.ch
www.biopilz.ch