Mushrooms at the market

Researchers in Adelaide are working on turning mushroom waste into items like sunscreen, skincare products and coating for outdoor furniture coating.

The research will help growers convert waste into something valuable.

Prof Vincent Bulone

The idea is to substitute artificial compounds that are currently used in sunscreens with natural compounds from mushrooms.

Mushrooms SA general manager Nick Femia said putting waste to work could save his business tens of thousands of dollars a year.

Key points:

  • Mushroom growers could soon be making money from their waste as researchers investigate new applications for the fungus
  • Growers hope the by-product being experimented with can even be used to package mushrooms, among other uses
  • A research leader says, thanks to the methods of extraction, there is no risk of skincare products smelling like mushrooms

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