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Heavy metals: the importance of echo seal in pure fungi

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Marta Hifas |

In food supplements, quality is not a minor issue. His criteria are strictly regulated to ensure traceability and guarantee food hygiene and safety. Several European directives, complemented by the regulation of each country, They govern the way companies guarantee the quality of their products and raw materials that are used in their production. Specifically, in the field of fungal supplements, some characteristics of fungi and their presentation in food supplements demand maximum surveillance to avoid any risk to the consumer. What are the reasons for this? It is what we will see in this article.

Posted on 04/19/2023. By: Hifas Editorial Team

 Index

Pure fungi: natural bioacumulators par excellence

Fungi are known as the great natural bioacumulators, that is to say, They have the ability to concentrate components present in their environment. They can absorb various minerals, including essential and non -essential provided by the substrates, but also various pollutants. This capacity (also known as bioremediation) makes them especially interesting for Decontamination of hydrocarbons soils and allows ecosystems to be balanced. On the other hand, this formidable property also makes it vulnerable to pollution in its direct environment. Research has shown that fungi have the ability to accumulate heavy metals in high concentrations, such as Mercury, lead, cadmium or arsenic. In addition, most elements can be bioacumulated by fungi, especially from the ground and substrates.

In fact, a Study published in the scientific journal Biometals It states that the accumulation of heavy metals varies according to different factors being the species the most determining factor in the capacity to accumulate heavy metals.

Fungi, substrates and heavy metals

Most of the mushrooms used in food supplements are the so -called saprophyte species, which are developed on decomposition organic matter. In fact, many are specialized in degrading the plant organic matter on which they grow. If they grow on wood remains, they can degrade matter from cellulose or from lignin. The latter take advantage of the weakness of a tree whose cortex is composed of this lignin to develop. At an industrial scale, They can be cultivated in a wide range of substrates containing lignin, such as sawdust, rice straw, wheat straw and other agricultural biomass. For this reason it is easy to understand that certain human activities related to livestock and agriculture (use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, etc.) can cause the pollution of the environment on which the substrate (or culture) substrate depends on mushrooms: water pollution, absorption by trees, cereals, etc. The result of this is that these heavy metals are then found in the mushrooms we consume.

The risks of an unbelievable supplement

When we talk about the use of fungi, we talk about the most concentrated form of mushrooms: Standardized concentrated extracts. This presentation consists of a high concentration of bioactive molecules from mushrooms. Only the use of standardized extracts can guarantee the same active molecules at all times, both qualitatively and quantitatively. This byproduct has the peculiarity of requiring a large amount of raw material. In it Hifas Da Terra Laboratory, an average of 150 kilos of Reishi fresh to make 1 kilo of standardized concentrated extract. Therefore, if heavy metal contamination is not detected in the fungus or raw material production phase, the pollutant is 150 times more concentrated in the final product! Is there any risk? Unfortunately, yes. The Research teams that analyze the fungi unanimously ask the authorities to take additional measures to monitor, control and, ultimately, reduce the concentrations of toxic heavy metals in a wide variety of mushrooms.

Hifas da Terra: The Trust Laboratory

Due to the toxicity of the substances analyzed, their presence in food products such as mushrooms is not, obviously, desirable. To avoid risks, it is necessary to buy from a laboratory that can guarantee traceability the product throughout its productive process and that is transparent with its quality policy. The Hifas Da Terra laboratory, specialized in the development of supplements of supplements with pure fungi for more than 20 years, has developed their own quality system to guarantee the quality security and efficacy of your products. Thus controls of security, purity, concentration of active biomolecules and Confirmation of the stability of the final product. This includes microbiological analysis, pesticides, heavy metals and gluten. Our analysis guarantees the total absence of 400 pesticides and heavy metals in each lot of production and final product.

Summary

The transfer of harmful substances in food not only derives from the food container, it also has to do with the production process: if the absence of heavy metals is not guaranteed. If you want to know more about the controls carried out in Hifas Quality System, Here are more information.

Los productos de la tienda online son complementos alimenticios que no previenen, tratan o curan alguna enfermedad humana y no reemplazan la atención o terapias médicas u otros medicamentos de prescripción.