Mushrooms
The increasing popularity for medicinal mushroom products means a growing market, and also increased opportunities for fraudulent products. Many medicinal species, such as Reishi and Chaga, can be very expensive, making them attractive targets for adulteration. The rise in online sales channels has made it easier to sell adulterated products directly to consumers.
When mushroom products are adulterated, their quality, safety, and nutritional value are affected. These are some of the ways that adulteration can appear:
Substitution of Lower-Quality or Cheaper Mushroom Species
Higher quality, more expensive varieties are substituted to offer lower costs and/or increase profits.
Substitution of Cheaper Materials or Ingredients
This happens with powdered or capsule forms, where cheaper materials like rice flour, barley, starch, or vegetable powders might be added to mushroom powders to increase weight and volume.
Mislabeling or False Labels
This includes inaccurate labelling of source material, incorrect species, harvest date, or place of origin.
Why NMR for Mushrooms?
Suppliers and consumers alike should consider what quality or authenticity testing is being provided to assure the identity and consistency of commercial mushroom products. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is an accurate and reliable testing method for mushrooms. As a non-targeted analytical technique, for any sample, NMR can provide information such as:
See Our Latest Application Note Here
Learn how NMR can ensure consistency and identify mushroom species for high-quality supplements.
We work with companies like Nammex and support their business by providing authenticity testing for mushrooms. Check out the details of our collaboration in this video:
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