In the production and planting demonstration base of Hubei Haowei Technology, workers placed fungus sticks in the greenhouse. Photo by Chen Sheng.
As early as the Warring States Period, "Lü's Spring and Autumn Period" recorded that shiitake mushrooms tasted delicious, which shows the long history of Chinese ancestors eating mushrooms. Nowadays, with the improvement of living standards, people's demand for food is more diversified, from eating enough to eating well, to eating healthy. In the context of the big food concept, edible mushrooms, a nutritious, delicious, green and healthy food, have once again become the "darling" on people's tongues.
According to the data of the China Edible Fungi Association, the annual consumption of edible fungi in China continues to grow at a growth rate of 7%. With the steady progress of the construction of the international high-quality development base of agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the "international trade base"), Chinese edible fungus enterprises strictly adhere to product quality, seize the market outlet, deepen the cutting-edge of the industry, and further enhance their competitiveness in the international market.
Strictly adhere to quality and take root in overseas markets.
The quality of agricultural products is competitiveness, and whether they can gain a firm foothold in the international arena must be measured by quality in the final analysis. Many edible fungus enterprises strictly implement standardized production specifications, and take safety, green and freshness as the basic requirements for continuously improving product quality.
Founded in 2013, Hubei Haowei Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Hubei Haowei"), is mainly engaged in the planting, acquisition, processing and sales of edible fungi and agricultural and sideline products. For 10 consecutive years, the pass rate of product quality sampling has reached 99More than 5%, it has become the guarantee for the company to take root in the international market.
Generally speaking, chemical residues and heavy metals are the two major factors affecting the safety of edible mushroom products, so we strictly control them from the planting stage, abandon the traditional way of chemical sterilization, and use safer medical alcohol for disinfection. We will also do a good job of testing the edible mushrooms grown by farmers, and we will purchase them after testing that there are no problems. Chen Sheng, executive director of Hubei Haowei, introduced that in order to strictly control the quality, the company has also established a quality management training system and a traceability system for the quality and safety of mushroom products.
At the same time, excellent product quality can enable enterprises to obtain export qualification certification and get a "pass" to enter the international market. In recent years, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs has organized a number of trainings to provide certification consulting and counseling services for enterprises in the international trade base. Many enterprises said that the recognition of the ITG base has provided great help for them to pass the global standard agricultural GAP certification, the global standardization system ISO22000 certification, and the HACCP food safety management system certification.
Just as Zhuangzi's "Wandering Away" wrote, "Fungi do not know the obscurity", people have long found that fungi are difficult to preserve. How to further extend the shelf life of edible fungus products on the basis of ensuring food safety is a common problem faced by export enterprises.
As a company that mainly exports fresh edible mushrooms, Chengdu Fengke Biotechnology*** hereinafter referred to as "Chengdu Fengke") can make edible mushrooms still fresh after a long journey to sea.
Through the company's own patented packaging technology, the shelf life of fresh shiitake mushrooms exported by us can reach about 3 months. The export of edible mushrooms takes a long time, in addition to the processes of packing, pick-up, detention, customs declaration, and more than a month of sea transportation, we can finally leave customers with 2 to 3 weeks of shelf life. Wang Nan, general manager of Chengdu Fengke, introduced that compared with the traditional preservation technology, this patented technology extends the shelf life of edible fungi by two months, and realizes the export of fresh edible fungi to Europe and the United States, which is a "sharp weapon" for them to seize overseas markets.
Seize the tuyere and open up the "blue ocean" of the industry
China is the world's largest producer of edible fungi and a major exporter of edible fungi in the world. At present, China's edible fungus exports are mainly primary processed products, and the deep processing field is the "blue ocean" that needs to be explored urgently in the edible fungus industry.
Canned food has always been China's main export processed food, and canned edible mushrooms based on mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms are an important part of export canned food.
In the production workshop of Hubei Haowei, after a series of processes such as cleaning, disinfection, slicing, canning, and disinfection, the canned mushrooms slowly "went off the production line" and waited for packing and export. "Nearly half of the canned shiitake mushrooms we produce are sent to South Korea, which can retain the nutritional value and crispy taste of the mushrooms to the greatest extent, and are easy to eat when opened, which is very popular with local residents. According to Chen Sheng, canned edible mushrooms are the company's flagship products, accounting for 20% of total exports, mainly sold to South Korea, Europe, Africa and other countries and regions and supplied to Hong Kong.
For a long time, China's edible fungus products are mainly circulated and sold through wholesale markets at all levels, supermarkets, catering markets and other channels. In the face of new consumption trends and consumption scenarios, the development of edible mushroom foods that are in line with the trend of food development and have market potential is becoming a boom in the industry.
Taking Zhongxiang Xingli Food Co., Ltd. *** hereinafter referred to as "Zhongxiang Xingli") as an example, the company is committed to deep processing, the introduction of food freeze-drying technology, and the development of a series of new products such as freeze-dried shiitake mushrooms and edible mushroom soup. With the help of existing freeze-drying technology and equipment, Zhong Xiang Xingli has advanced into the prefabricated vegetable track. At the moment when the prefabricated food industry is in the wind, Cheng Shilun, chairman of the company, believes that there must be opportunities for edible fungi in this emerging industry.
4.Shiitake mushrooms of about 5 cm are pre-made and matured, and 10 shiitake mushrooms are packed into a bag. Customers can heat it in their hands for three minutes and enjoy a delicious dish of abalone and shiitake mushrooms. Recently, Zhong Xiang Xingli's pre-made abalone mushroom dishes have been well received overseas, and many customers say that it can help them reduce labor expenses in catering costs. According to Cheng Shilun, the new prefabricated dishes have been promoted in 7 countries simultaneously, and an order of 4 million US dollars has been received, which is expected to become a new profit growth point for the company.
In addition to edible mushroom snack food and fast food, health care products and dietary supplements have also become a new direction for the deep processing of edible mushrooms. Not satisfied with only canning processing, Hubei Haowei aims at polysaccharides, a bioactive substance. "Polysaccharide extraction can be regarded as the ceiling of edible mushroom processing. We have negotiated cooperation with colleges and universities to prepare for the next step of mushroom polysaccharide extraction, and apply the chemical component of polysaccharides to health care products, medicines, cosmetics, etc. Chen Sheng said.
Dig deep and cultivate to create the cutting-edge of the industry.
According to customs statistics, in 2023, China's edible fungi and products will be exported to a total of 286.7 billion US dollars, export volume 56510,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 228%。In addition to East and Southeast Asian countries, in recent years, Russia, the United States, and Italy have entered the top 10 countries in China's edible mushroom and product exports.
For edible fungus export enterprises, the broader international market also means more fierce international competition, and the competition in the international market is more often cutting-edge and characteristic competition, who can do "no one I have, people have me excellent", who can occupy a place.
Everyone is making shiitake mushrooms, so we need to make mushrooms and prepare to build a fully automatic intelligent temperature control greenhouse to achieve four seasons of mushrooms. In the face of the serious homogenization of mushroom products, Hubei Haowei's countermeasure is "people have me". Chen Sheng said frankly that mushrooms are shiitake mushrooms with cracks in the cap and good appearance quality. Only through strict temperature control, humidity control, light and ventilation, the formation of day and night temperature difference, dry and humidity difference can promote the production of different depth patterns on the mushroom cover, become the top grade in the mushroom, "ordinary mushrooms are about 35 to 40 yuan a catty, but if they grow into mushrooms, they can reach 55 to 65 catties."
The creation of cutting-edge needs to be supported by scientific and technological innovation. As a high-tech enterprise, Chengdu Fengke has the core technology and facilities and equipment for the cultivation and cultivation of rare edible fungi that are internationally advanced and leading in China.
For the public, fungus and shiitake mushrooms are very common edible mushrooms in the market, because they are easy to cultivate and produce. Like Shimeji mushroom and white jade mushroom, they have more stringent requirements for the growing environment. Only according to the needs of mushroom growth and simulating the ecological environment can it be successfully cultivated. According to Wang Nan, the company has built a closed, standardized and factory-based three-dimensional "farm" integrating intelligent control and automated mechanical operations, which can realize the factory production of rare edible mushrooms such as crab mushrooms and white jade mushrooms. At the same time, the company has achieved a double breakthrough in the production capacity and technology of Shimeji mushroom.
The strong investment in R&D has enabled Chengdu Fengke to make breakthroughs in overseas markets. According to Wang Nan, at present, Chengdu Fengke's real shimeji mushroom products are exported to overseas, with a market share of more than 80% in Europe, northern Thailand and northern Vietnam, covering more than 90% of Chinese supermarkets in the United States.
Wang Nan said that since its establishment more than 20 years ago, the company has been deeply engaged in the independent research and development of edible fungus "strain chips". "It is irreplaceable to only do a good job of variety. I think this industry must have people in all tracks, but just like the craftsmanship spirit we have always admired, our choice is to continue to dig deeper in this sub-industry and become a 'unicorn' in this field." Wang Nan said.