Agri-Food Processing
We often see examples of poor practices in the harvesting, preservation, and processing of wild mushrooms collected in the forests. It is essential to follow a series of good practices at every stage of the mushroom value chain, from harvesting to cooking. Therefore, the FUNGIVERSO project will support a local entrepreneur in carrying out innovative agri-food processing of edible mushrooms collected from the Mycological Parks of Aragón.
The goal is to create an innovative product based on agri-food processing that adds value to the mushrooms harvested in the Mycological Parks and gives them a unique characteristic that increases the value of the local product. Specifically, the aim is to develop a line of locally sourced freeze-dried mushroom products for finishing and plating in high-end restaurants, with the assurance of sustainable harvesting practices provided by the Aragón Mycological Parks network and full traceability of the product's origin. This line will be complemented by simpler processed products such as dried mushrooms, flours, and more. Processing these mushrooms by a local entrepreneur will help maintain the transformation and marketing chain within local markets, preserving the added value in the region.
For legal and food safety reasons, the commercialization process for this type of product takes a long time, and the project’s execution period will not allow us to bring it to market.
Compensation Action:
To compensate for this change, four different products will be created and offered free of charge to consumers at various gastronomic fairs, allowing us to test their reception and guide the development of products more in demand by users. The ultimate goal of the action remains the same; it simply shifts from selling the product to offering it for free to consumers. Additionally, as compensation, a dissemination event will be held where the contracted entrepreneur will act as a presenter, along with a report on product exposure to consumers and a report on the conclusions drawn from consumer surveys. Finally, the products will be showcased at the final results presentation event.
