World’s largest maitake cultivator’s adherence to strict standards
helps ensure safety and quality, as well as a reliable supply

Yukiguni Maitake Company, Ltd., the world’s largest cultivator of premium maitake mushrooms and patented extracts, has been awarded ISO 22000 certification, the new Global ISO standard on managing food safety in plants. The standard plays a key part in efforts to keep contaminants out of the food chain, and is especially crucial to ensuring ingredient purity for supplement and nutraceutical manufacturers.

“This is further evidence that America has someone they can trust to deliver quality  maitake mushrooms in reliable quantities,” says Kaz Kameyama, CEO of Yukiguni Subsidiaries. “ISO 22000 is the latest benchmark in our ongoing pledge to meet and possibly even exceed the nutraceutical industry’s demands for purity and consistency. It is one more reassurance that we maintain the highest quality standards from cultivation to product delivery.” Yukiguni Maitake also has received ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certifications.

Kameyama explains that there are important differences among maitake mushroom suppliers. “If you are considering using maitake powder or extract as an ingredient, you should be able to determine if the mushrooms are grown indoors or outdoors, how many miles they must travel between where they’re grown and where they are processed, and the country in which they are grown. You also will want assurances against product shortages.”  

This is, of course, in addition to consistent product quality. “Our innovative, patented drying and extraction processing methods are unequalled in the industry,” says Kameyama. “All of which makes Yukiguni Maitake a one-stop resource for maitake ingredients.”  

Yukiguni’s patented processes yield the only maitake mushroom extract that meets the high standards set by prominent research facilities and the United States government.

This consistent quality also makes Yukiguni Maitake the preferred source of maitake mushroom extracts for human clinical trials. Its close relationship to cutting edge research gives Yukiguni a unique insight into medicinal mushroom trends. The company also has the resources and expertise to help manufacturers develop safe, effective and innovative dietary supplements, food applications, and other ingredient systems. At full capacity, Yukiguni Maitake can produce 110 tons of fresh maitake mushrooms daily (more than 60 million pounds annually), with 96-98 percent of those meeting its strict internal standards for size and unit weight, quality taste and texture, and safety from biochemical and physical hazards.

Maitake is the Japanese name for the edible Grifola frondosa mushroom that has been used for centuries as a dietary supplement. Previous studies published in major medical journals have shown that maitake mushroom extract may be beneficial for supporting a healthy immune system and cellular health.  Kosher-certified Yukiguni Maitake mushrooms are organically grown using pure subterranean water, wheat bran, sawdust and other natural materials.

Yukiguni Maitake Company Ltd., headquartered in Niigata, Japan with U.S. subsidiaries, is the world’s largest cultivator of premium maitake mushrooms and patented extracts, produced to the highest industry standards in state-of-the-art ISO and Kosher facilities. It is the preferred source for maitake extracts among leading research facilities and U.S. government agencies, as well as for dietary supplement manufacturers and the culinary industry.  

Yukiguni’s imported and patented high quality dried maitake powder and the patented extract are already available in U.S. for the trades through its U.S. subsidiary, as well as its Vermont-based U.S. sales affiliate, the Tradeworks Group Inc. The patented extract is distributed as Maitake Gold 404®  and experiencing steady sales network expansion.

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Sarah Clark                                                                                                             
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