title: Safety assessment of the post-harvest treatment of button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) using ultraviolet light.
abstract: Wild mushrooms are an excellent source of vitamin D. The presence of vitamin D in mushrooms is attributed to sunlight exposure, which catalyzes the conversion of fungal ergosterol to vitamin D2 via a series of photochemical/thermal reactions. Mushroom growers now incorporate UV light treatments during processing to produce mushrooms with levels of vitamin D that compare to those in wild mushrooms. Presented herein is a comprehensive review of information relevant to the safety of introducing vitamin D mushrooms, produced using UV light technologies, to the food supply. Historical reference to the use of UV light for production of vitamin D is discussed, and studies evaluating the nutritional value and safety of vitamin D mushrooms are reviewed. Traditional safety evaluation practices for food additives are not applicable to whole foods; therefore, the application of substantial equivalence and history-of-safe-use is presented. It was demonstrated that vitamin D in mushrooms, produced using UV light technologies, are equivalent to vitamin D in mushrooms exposed to sunlight, and that UV light has a long-history of safe use for production of vitamin D in food. Vitamin D mushrooms produced using UV light technologies were therefore considered safe and suitable for introduction to the marketplace.
authors.affiliation: Intertek Cantox, 2233 Argentia Road, Suite 308, Mississauga, ON, Canada L5N 2X7. ryan.simon@intertek.com
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Borzelleca
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: DeLuca
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Weaver
mesh_terms: D000363:Agaricales / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects*; D000818:Animals; D005524:Food Technology / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D009753:Nutritive Value / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013472:Sunlight; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000032:analysis*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D