Edible mushroom protein - When did Quorn hit the market?
Although there is no meat, the demand for additives that give the food the smell and taste of meat, or in other words for alternative meat products, is increasing day by day. Some people decide to reduce the amount of meat they consume or become vegetarian.
Edible mushroom protein products, sold today under the brand name Quorn, enable high protein intake with little or no meat consumption. However, the manufacturers who developed this product in England did not have in mind to meet the needs of vegetarian users. Since the manufacturers predicted that the supply of meat products will decrease in the coming years, they aimed to develop a product that could meet the protein needs of people.
Quorn is a meat substitute product originating in the UK and sold primarily in Europe, but available in 14 countries. The brand is owned by parent company Monde Nissin. Founded 1985.
The first step in this area came from an unexpected place, from the small English town of Marlow. A type of mold growing there called Fusarium venenatum was discovered in 1965 and was soon recognized as a rich source of fungal protein.
Rank Hovis McDougall, who conducted research in the 1970s on whether mushroom extracts could be consumed by humans, enabled these products to be produced on a large scale in 1980. Mushroom protein was licensed for sale in the UK in 1985, whereupon the product was launched by Marlow Foods under the brand name Quorn. The mushroom used in the production of this product is fermented in oxygen tanks. Protein is extracted from the pulp of the mushrooms that develop here, and then shaped using chicken egg whites.
Today, there are many different products, from salami to sausage, under the Quorn brand. Half a million meals made from Quorn are consumed every day in the UK.