Yukiguni
Maitake Company, Ltd. Awarded New ISO 22000 Certification
2005-11-17 - Yukiguni Maitake Company, Ltd.
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.
