History:

The Mushrooms and Health Global Initiative is a collaborative effort to collect, evaluate and disseminate validated nutrition and health research information on mushrooms. This information can be used to support a range of health professional and consumer focused public relations activities to drive greater understanding of the health benefits of mushrooms.

The Initiative was "launched" during the International Medicinal Mushroom Conference 4 (Slovenia 2007) following a meeting of the Australian Mushroom Growers Association and the U.S. Mushroom Council. Since then, other mushroom growing/marketing organizations in Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Netherlands, France, Belgium, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Poland have joined the project and it is planned to have at least China, Japan and Korea on board some time in the future.

Outcomes:

The "Crown Jewel" of the Initiative is the Mushrooms and Health 2008 report, a thorough review and evaluation of the state of the science linking mushrooms and health. The report can be found separately on this website.

Mushrooms and Health will be updated annually to include the latest research on mushrooms influence on human health.

The Initiative produces a quarterly Bulletin that is posted on this website.

This website is a source of new research linking mushrooms to health and provides updates on conferences.

Initiative Core Team Members:

Core Team Members have the primary responsibility for carrying out the work of the Initiative. They are:

	GREG SEYMOUR President, ISMS; General Manager AMGA, Australia; Strategic Manager, Mushrooms and Health Global Initiative.
	BART MINOR President, Mushroom Council, United States.
	Juan Valverde Group Research and Development Manager, Monaghan Mushrooms Ltd, Republic of Ireland.
	MARY JO FEENEY Registered Dietitian, Fellow of the American Dietetic Association, Mushrooms and Health Global Initiative Operations Manager and Bulletin Editor, United States.
	GLENN CARDWELL Accredited Practising Dietitian, Nutrition Impact P/L, Australia.
	CHRIS ROWLEY Communications Consultant, Australia.
	HEIDI GENGLER Registered Dietitian, Vice President, Edelman Public Relations, United States.

In addition, members of the Strategic Communications Group represent countries invested in the Initiative and adapt Initiative projects and publications to their local needs.

How You Can Be Involved:

Here are some ways you can join the Initiative efforts.

• Serve as the Initiative's eyes and ears for studies, press clippings or other announcements on new research that links mushrooms and health. Send us information on the research and how to contact the researcher or institution.
• Provide us with any news about mushrooms - including information about what's happening in the commercial world.
• Spread the news about mushrooms and health; share the information from the website and in the Bulletin at every chance.

Contact Us:

You are welcome to contact us via info@mushroomsandhealth.com