Ergothioneine Circulation in Mushroom Cultivation Using Food Waste Recycling

Current food production systems generate and incinerate significant amounts of organic waste, which increases costs and energy consumption. In this study, we show that food waste, including food loss, can be used for mushroom cultivation. We also developed a new mushroom culture medium to replace conventional sawdust. Oyster mushrooms cultivated using food waste, including food loss, as the primary component contain higher levels of ergothioneine than that in the oyster mushrooms grown using sawdust, which has an antioxidant effect. We found that the proportion of nitrogen derived from animal protein in the mushroom culture medium influences ergothioneine content in fruiting bodies. We showed that irradiation with blue LEDs might produce mushrooms with a higher ergothioneine content than T-2 media. Furthermore, we established that ergothioneine is absorbed by the plant body. We aimed to develop an agricultural technology using food waste, including food loss, as growing media for mushrooms. Ultimately, we hope to create a regional cyclical food production system centered on mushroom cultivation, using food waste, including food loss, to promote microcirculation.